Museum of Mississippi History

The Crisis Screening

Released in 1916, The Crisis (about 60 minutes) will be shown at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 17. The Crisis is a silent film based on the novel by Winston Churchill that tells the story of the American Civil War and its struggle to end slavery. Jeff Giambrone, a historic research specialist, will speak briefly about the screening, and a live ensemble will perform a new, original score for the film. Other guests included in the program are Matt Wymer, executive director of the Oxford Film Festival, and Dev Shapiro, the owner of the Selig/Polyscope studio and films.

Juneteenth Celebration: Jubilee

Join us for Juneteenth Jubilee at 4 p.m. on Monday, June 19, at the Two Mississippi Museums! This free, family-friendly event will feature themed tours, craft-making activities for kids, various card games, music, on-site food trucks, a behind-the-scenes Historic Object Collections tour at 2 p.m., and live performances in an evening celebration of the history and significance of Juneteenth. 

Ingalls Shipbuilding is sponsoring free admission to the Two Mississippi Museums Saturday, June 17, through Monday, June 19, in celebration of Juneteenth.

Juneteenth Celebration: Free Weekend

Explore themes of emancipation and liberation in Mississippi history at the Juneteenth Celebration on Sunday, June 18, at the Two Mississippi Museums. Beginning at 11 a.m., this day of celebration will feature Juneteenth-themed tours at 2 p.m., a Juneteenth family gallery activity, and the exhibit This Is Home: Medgar Evers, Mississippi, and the Movement. For more information, call 601-576-6850, or email info@mdah.ms.gov

Juneteenth Celebration: Free Weekend

Explore themes of emancipation and liberation in Mississippi history at the Juneteenth Celebration on Saturday, June 17, at the Two Mississippi Museums. Beginning at 11 a.m., this day of celebration will feature Juneteenth-themed tours at 2 p.m., a Juneteenth family gallery activity, and the exhibit This Is Home: Medgar Evers, Mississippi, and the Movement. For more information, call 601-576-6850, or email info@mdah.ms.gov

Entrepreneur Fair

Calling all aspiring business leaders! Join us for Entrepreneur Fair at noon on Saturday, July 8, at the Two Mississippi Museums. Learn how to promote and support your business with resources from business innovation experts and entrepreneurs. This program will also feature occupations associated with robotics and virtual reality technologies, coding and data and analytics skills, and growing economic opportunities in Mississippi. Visitors will also have free admission to the temporary exhibit Solidarity Now!

Mississippi Department of Archives and History to Support Faith-Based Group Visits with Lilly Endowment Grant

Jackson, Miss.—Faith-affiliated communities in Mississippi—groups who attend churches, mosques, synagogues, temples, house churches, and more—may now visit the Two Mississippi Museums for free with groups of 10 or more persons.

Groups making reservations at least two weeks in advance may receive the added benefit of an in-depth overview of the museums by a museum guide during their visit.

These free group visits are made possible thanks to a $2.5 million grant awarded by Lilly Endowment Inc. to the Foundation for Mississippi History to help the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) support and promote programs, activities, and projects focused on the understanding and interpretation of the role of religion in Mississippi history and culture.

Additionally, support from Lilly Endowment will enable MDAH to broaden its audience and engage them in new ways by providing a 35 percent discount to faith-affiliated entities for facility rentals.

Lilly Endowment made the grant through its Religion and Cultural Institutions Initiative, a nationwide effort to help museums and other cultural institutions improve the public’s understanding of religion.

“We are grateful to Lilly Endowment for this major support,” said Katie Blount, MDAH director. “Lilly Endowment’s generosity will help more Mississippians experience these outstanding museums.” 

The Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum both address the history of religion. From the spiritual beliefs of Native Americans to the conflicting religious convictions of slaveholders and enslaved people, to the leadership of people of faith during the Civil Rights Movement, religion has been integral to the development of Mississippi.

“Museums and cultural institutions are trusted organizations and play an important role in teaching the American public about the world around them,” said Christopher Coble, Lilly Endowment’s vice president for religion. “These organizations will use the grants to help visitors understand and appreciate the significant impact religion has had and continues to have on society in the United States and around the globe. Our hope is that these efforts will promote greater knowledge about and respect for people of diverse religious traditions.”

Lilly endowment Inc. is an Indianapolis-based, private philanthropic foundation created in 1937 by J. K. Lilly and his sons, Eli and J.K. Jr., through gifts of stock in their pharmaceutical business, Eli Lilly and Company. While those gifts remain the financial bedrock of the Endowment, the Endowment is a separate entity from the company, with a distinct governing board, staff, and location. In keeping with its founders’ wishes, the Endowment supports the causes of community development, education, and religion. Although the Endowment funds programs throughout the United States, especially in the field of religion, it maintains a special commitment to its hometown, Indianapolis, and home state, Indiana.

For more information about faith-affiliated group visits please call 601-576-6850, or visit, https://2mm.mdah.ms.gov/visit/group-visit to make a reservation.

For more information about rentals at the Two Mississippi Museums please call 601-576-6850, or email, trice@mdah.ms.gov.

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This is Home: Medgar Evers, Mississippi, and the Movement Exhibit Opening

This is Home: Medgar Evers, Mississippi, and the Movement exhibit will open at 9 a.m. on Thursday, June 1. This exhibit marks the 60th anniversary of the assassination of Medgar Evers by examining the life, death, and impact of the civil rights hero. As Mississippi field secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1954 to 1963, Evers was involved in every major civil rights action in the state.

Pamela D.C. Junior, director of Two Mississippi Museums, Announces Retirement cmckenzie Fri, 04/07/2023 - 10:06

Pamela D. C. Junior, director of the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson, has announced her retirement. In 2017, Junior was named the inaugural director of the first state-sponsored civil rights museum in the nation, the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. She came to the role after serving as director of the Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center for seventeen years. In 2019, she was promoted to director of the Two Mississippi Museums, where she continued the work of sharing the stories of Mississippi told in the Museum of the Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museums. 

MDAH director Katie Blount said, “Pam Junior came to MDAH with deep roots and credibility in the community, many years of experience in the museum field, and a commitment to excellence that she modeled for younger staff. She personally led many thousands of visitors through the museums, enriching their experience through her passion for history and her boundless charisma. In our first years, Pam Junior lifted-up the Two Mississippi Museums and shared them with the world. We are grateful.” 

Highlights during Junior’s service include participating in the retirement of the 1894 Mississippi state flag at the official retirement ceremony in 2020 and guiding the late Congressman John Lewis through the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum—events she counts as major personal milestones. In 2018, she spearheaded MLK Jr. Day programming with fellow museum staff and added the MLK Night of Culture in 2019, just two of the highly attended annual events at the museums. 

“Pamela is a woman who knows that she did not travel her road alone, but on the shoulders of those who came before her,” said civil rights leader Myrlie Evers. “Pamela is imbued with the fortitude, wisdom, and faith of her grandmother, mother, mentors, and civil rights veterans. Her leadership reflects her commitment to Mississippi and the honest telling of our history.” 

After graduating from Jackson State University, where Junior received a BS in education, with a minor in special education, she joined the National Park Service in 1990 as a ranger in Washington, DC. Nearly a decade later, she returned to Jackson to work for the city’s Parks and Recreation Department.  

In 1999, Junior was hired as the manager of the Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center, where she became co-coordinator of the National Arts Program and acquired on permanent loan the Smithsonian traveling exhibition Field to Factory: The Afro-American Migration, 1915–1940.   

Junior has been honored over the years for both her professional and community work and received numerous awards, such as the Freedom Rider Award from the Mississippi Freedom 50th Foundation, the For My People Award from the Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State University, the Hometown Hero Award from the Jackson Convention and Visitors Bureau, and the Museum Leadership Award by the Association of African American Museums. She was inducted into the Mississippi Tourism Hall of Fame.  

Junior will continue to serve the community as a board member for Visit Jackson and an advisory board member for the Mississippi Book Festival. She is also a member of the International Women’s Forum.   

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