Museum of Mississippi History

The Nissan Foundation has awarded a $50,000 grant to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) to support field trips to the Two Mississippi Museums.

"We are grateful to the Nissan Foundation for their support of our field trip program,” said Katie Blount, director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History. “School children are one of our most important audiences. The foundation’s generosity will help more students experience what Governor William Winter called the state’s largest classroom.” 

“We’re proud to award MDAH a grant for the unique programming it’s offering community members at a time in our history when conversations about race, ethnicity, bias, education and solutions are at the forefront,” said Chandra Vasser President of the Nissan Foundation and Nissan’s first ever Chief Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Officer. 

The funds will be used to defray costs such as admission, travel, and on-site lunches for students. To reserve or learn more about field trips at the Two Mississippi Museums, contact Stephanie King, field trips coordinator, at sking@mdah.ms.gov.

Museum hours are Tuesday–Saturday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. The Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum—Two Mississippi Museums—are located at 222 North Street in Jackson. For more information visit the MDAH Facebook page or email info@mdah.ms.gov. 

The Nissan Foundation is awarding a total of $848,000 in grants to 33 nonprofit organizations for its 2022 grant cycle. The nonprofit recipients are located in Southern California, Tennessee, Texas, Central Mississippi, Southeast Michigan and the New York and Atlanta metro areas – all locations where Nissan has an operational presence.

As part its 30th anniversary commemoration, the Nissan Foundation has been profiling the work of many of its grantees through written and video storytelling. The anniversary year will culminate with a symposium bringing together Nissan Foundation grantees and thought leaders for dialogue around the foundation’s mission of building community by valuing cultural diversity.

Ingalls Shipbuilding, the largest manufacturing employer in Mississippi, is supporting free admission to the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum on Friday, June 17, and Saturday, June 18, in observance of Juneteenth. Admission to the Two Mississippi Museums is free every Sunday. 

Signed into law on June 17, 2021, Juneteenth is a federal holiday to commemorate the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States at the end of the Civil War. On June 19, 1865, Union general Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation now freed all enslaved people.

“We are grateful to Ingalls Shipbuilding for making it possible for thousands of Mississippians to visit the Two Mississippi Museums and celebrate emancipation in the United States,” said Katie Blount, director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

“We are honored to provide our shipbuilders and fellow Mississippians with the opportunity to learn more about our state’s African American history,” said Kari Wilkinson president of Ingalls Shipbuilding. “By enabling a greater understanding of the history of the state, our hope is that those in attendance will experience firsthand the stories of perseverance and gain an extraordinary deep appreciation of the sacrifice and courage of those who were pioneers in the fight for civil rights.”

Juneteenth themed tours will be held in the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 18, and Sunday, June 19.

Museum hours are Tuesday–Saturday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m.–5 p.m. The Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum—Two Mississippi Museums—are located at 222 North Street in Jackson. For more information visit the MDAH Facebook page or email info@mdah.ms.gov.  

Eddie S. Glaude Jr., educator, author, political commentator, and public intellectual will deliver the Medgar Wiley Evers Lecture on Thursday, April 28, at 6 p.m. at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. The event is free and open to the public. 

“I am thrilled that a Mississippi native as distinguished as Eddie Glaude is coming home to participate in our lecture series,” said MDAH director Katie Blount. “I am also excited for his first visit to the Two Mississippi Museums.”

Glaude, a native of Moss Point, is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University. His writings include Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul, In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America, and his most recent book, New York Times bestseller Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own.

He frequently appears in the media as a columnist for TIME Magazine and on television.

The Medgar Wiley Evers Lecture Series was established in 2003 to honor the legacy of civil rights leader Medgar Evers, one year after Myrlie Evers made an extraordinary gift to the people of Mississippi when she presented the Medgar and Myrlie Evers papers to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH). Previous Evers lecturers include Lonnie Bunch, Henry Louis Gates, Manning Marable, and Robert P. Moses. The series is supported by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

In 2014, the Kellogg Foundation awarded $2.3 million to MDAH to support programming at the Two Mississippi Museums and fund a partnership between MDAH and the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Institute. The lecture will be held at the Two Mississippi Museums, located at 222 North St. in Jackson. For more information, call 601-576-6850 or visit http://www.mdah.ms.gov.