Events

At noon on Wednesday, August 27, a panel of partners from HORNE, a professional services firm, will reflect on their groundbreaking role in Mississippi’s recovery following Hurricane Katrina. As the 20th anniversary of the storm approaches, Bryan McDonald, Scott Keller, Alethia Thomas, Timothy Smith, and Neil Ford will discuss how HORNE helped lead one of the first major collaborations between government and the private sector to manage disaster recovery in the state—a model that has since shaped efforts nationwide. This program will take place in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums and will stream live on the MDAH Facebook page and YouTube channel. Visitors are also encouraged to view Hurricane Katrina: Mississippi Remembers, Photographs by Melody Golding, a special exhibit currently on display at the museums. For more information, call 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov.

At noon Wednesday, September 10, co-founders of Gulf Coast Vietnamese Narratives (GCVN), Emma To and Jennifer Le, will be joined by award-winning photographer Tim Isbell, and Carol Andersen, assistant director of the Mississippi Humanities Council, to explore the Vietnamese community’s rich history and contributions along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, particularly in the seafood industry. This program will take place in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums and will also stream live on the MDAH Facebook page and YouTube channel. For more information, call 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov.

Join us Tuesday, August 12, 11 a.m. at the Two Mississippi Museums to embark on a behind-the-scenes tour of the MDAH Historic Objects Collection led by Nan Prince, MDAH director of collections, and Hong Li, MDAH collections manager. Attendees will meet in the lobby of the Two Mississippi Museums. Space is limited to the first twenty-five attendees. Register here. For more information, contact 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov.

The Eudora Welty House & Garden (EWHG) will host a two hour guided painting class with wine and light refreshments on Thursday, August 21, at 5:30 p.m. All painting supplies will be provided by MDAH for a materials fee of $25. Payment can be made by calling the EWHG front desk or through the EWHG point-of-sales system on the day of the program. For more information, call 601-353-7762 or email info@eudoraweltyhouse.com.

Join us for the Hurricane Katrina gallery talk at 11 a.m. on Thursday, September 11, in the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Exhibition Hall at the Two Mississippi Museums. Gulf Coast Vietnamese Narratives co-founders Jennifer Le and Emma To, alongside award-winning photographer Tim Isbell, will explore the lasting impact of Hurricane Katrina on Vietnamese communities along the Mississippi Gulf Coast through personal stories, community memory, and powerful imagery. For more information, call 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov.

The next meeting of the Local Government Records Committee will be held on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, at 10:30 am, on Zoom only. The meeting packet for the agenda and the zoom link can be found here. For more information, contact 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov.

Interested in starting your journey in genealogy? Andrew McNulty, cultural resource specialist at MDAH, will lead a beginner genealogy workshop at 10 a.m. on Saturday, August 16, at the William F. Winter Archives and History Building. This workshop will cover the study of genealogy, how to begin personal research, how to find and use open-source materials, and how to use resources in the archives. Register here. For more information, call 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov.

At 10 a.m. on Thursday, July 17, the state records committee will review, approve, disapprove, amend, or modify records control schedules for all state agencies, boards, and commissions. Once approved, schedules shall have the force and effect of law.

At noon Wednesday, August 20, Dr. Byron D’Andra Orey, professor of political science at Jackson State University, and Dr. Jeanne Middleton Hairston, co-author of the original Mississippi: Conflict and Change, will discuss the updated textbook Mississippi, Conflict and Change: A New Edition as part of the History Is Lunch series. The new edition brings the history of the state up to date on contemporary politics, culture, and the economy. This program will take place in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums and will also stream live on the MDAH Facebook page and YouTube channel. Copies of Mississippi: Conflict and Change will be available for sale with a book signing to follow. For more information, call 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov.

Join us at 10 a.m. on Saturday, July 19, for Beginning Genealogy: Using Online Resources, a free workshop led by Amanda Vance, reference service specialist at MDAH. This workshop will discuss the types of records that can be found online through the archive’s holdings such as death certificate indexes, Civil War service cards, and marriage records. Participants will learn how to use digital genealogical resources such as Ancestry.com, Newspapers.com, FamilySearch.org, etc. We look forward to seeing you in the orientation room at the William F. Winter Archives and History Building. Register here. For more information, call 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov.