Events

Join us for the ninth annual Bettye Jolly Lecture Series featuring Richard Ford, acclaimed novelist and short story author, at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 2, on the lawn of the Eudora Welty House & Garden. A book signing and reception will follow the lecture.

At noon on Wednesday, April 1, the Hinds Community College Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Joseph Earp, will present a special concert as part of the History Is Lunch series. The program will begin with a brief reflection on America’s past 250 years, followed by the wind ensemble performing iconic works related to the nation’s history

Join us for the Heirloom Plant Sale at 9 a.m. on Saturday, March 28, at the Eudora Welty House & Garden in Jackson. Attendees will have the rare opportunity to shop heirloom plants propagated from Eudora Welty’s garden and specially grown plants popular in Welty’s era.

Interested in starting your journey in genealogy? Andrew McNulty, cultural resource specialist at MDAH, will host a beginner genealogy workshop on Saturday, March 21, at 10 a.m. in the orientation room of the William F. Winter Archives and History Building in Jackson.

Interested in knowing more about the Indigenous Natchez language? Join us at 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 26, at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians for a free public event on language revitalization. Copies of Natchez Analytical Dictionary will be available for purchase in the museum store, and a book signing will follow the program.

The annual meeting of the Mississippi Historical Society will take place March 5–6 at the Riley Center and the Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience in Meridian. Early registration is $65 for MHS members and $100 for nonmembers. Registration after Friday, February 28 is $90 for MHS members and $125 for nonmembers.

At noon on Wednesday, March 25, author M.J. O’Brien will speak as part of the History Is Lunch series about the 1961 sit-in at Jackson’s segregated public library, when nine students from Tougaloo College were arrested for “breach of the peace.” O’Brien’s book, The Tougaloo Nine: The Jackson Library Sit-In at the Crossroads of Civil War and Civil Rights, explores the three-day protest

At noon on Wednesday, March 11, Chandra Wise, pianist and music director, will share stories of the African American women whose creative genius shaped the foundation of gospel music as part of the History Is Lunch series. From Lucy Campbell of Duck Hill—the first African American woman to publish a hymn in 1919—to Dorothy Love-Coates, Roberta Martin, and Mattie Moss Clark

At noon on Wednesday, March 4, a representative from Wayne-Sanderson will present on the history and impact of the poultry industry in Mississippi as part of the History Is Lunch series. Wayne-Sanderson is the nation’s third-largest poultry producer and the sponsor for the special exhibition, Mississippi Made.