Join us at 11 a.m. on Thursday, April 6, for a gallery talk in the Emmett Till & Mamie Till-Mobley: Let the World See exhibition at the Two Mississippi Museums. Museum Educator Olivia Williams will discuss the Emmett Till generation and their involvement in the Civil Rights Movement and keeping Emmett Till's life and legacy alive. For more information, call 601-576-6850, or email info@mdah.ms.gov.
Join us for Stickball and Social Dancing at 3:30 p.m. on Friday, March 24, at the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians. Stickball is a traditional game of the native people of the Eastern Woodlands and is played by such tribes as the Natchez, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee, and Cherokee. Music and dance are important forms of expression for some native peoples, and these living traditions serve to ensure that cultural heritage continues to thrive for future generations. This program is free and open to the public.
The documentary Mysterious Circumstances: The Mysterious Death of Meriwether Lewis will be shown at 2 p.m. on Sunday, March 12, in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums. This event will also include an introduction by Clark Richey, the director of the film. A Q&A from the audience will follow the screening. For more information, call 601-576-6850, or email info@mdah.ms.gov.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Two Mississippi Museums in December 2017, former Governor William F. Winter declared, “These two museums were built for all of us, but most especially they were built for our children and our grandchildren and future generations.” His dream was that every Mississippi student would visit these museums at least once.
Winter would have turned 100 on Tuesday, February 21. To honor his legacy, the Two Mississippi Museums will be free to the public on that day. This day of free admission is made possible by Jones Walker LLP, which acquired Watkins, Ludlam, Winter and Stennis where Governor Winter worked for over 50 years.
“Governor Winter had a such a profound impact on the people of Mississippi and our nation. We are pleased that more people will have access to the museum on the day of his birthday. This is the perfect way to honor Governor Winter’s legacy in such a meaningful and impactful way—the exact way he lived his life,” said Bill Hines, managing partner of Jones Walker LLP.
Winter was known for his strong support for public education in Mississippi. He helped to raise endowment funds to bring Mississippi’s school children to the Two Mississippi Museums, or as he called them, “Mississippi’s largest classroom.”
“On this day, which would have been our father’s 100th birthday, we can think of no greater way to celebrate his life,” said his daughter Eleanor Winter. “He and others worked for years to make these museums a reality. It would bring him the greatest pleasure to know that the doors are flung wide open on his birthday for all to explore and learn about our state’s history.”
The Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum stand at the intersection of Winter’s greatest passions—history, education, and racial justice—and he was the leading force behind the public/private partnership through which they were built.
He believed the museums would, in his words, “challenge us to have a better understanding of where we have come from, and then inspire us to work harder to find our common ideals and goals.” He believed that “we will find that we have much more in common than what might appear to divide us.”
“All Mississippians should have the opportunity to experience the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum,” said Katie Blount, director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH). “We are grateful to the Winter family and to Jones Walker for this wonderful tribute to Governor and Mrs. Winter at the Two Mississippi Museums.”
Pamela D.C. Junior, director of the Two Mississippi Museums, said, “We hope you will visit us Tuesday, February 21, to honor this living memorial to Governor’s Winter’s life and work.”
Winter served on the MDAH Board of Trustees for more than 50 years and was president for nearly that long. He died December 18, 2020, at the age of 97. Elise Winter, his wife of 70 years who was a community activist and author, died just six months after her husband on July 17, 2021.
The William and Elise Winter Education Endowment was established by the Foundation for Mississippi History to memorialize Mississippi’s former governor and first lady and their commitment to education and preservation. Funds are used to defray costs such as admission, travel, and on-site lunches for students.
For more information about free Tuesday, February 21, at the Two Mississippi Museums, email info@mdah.ms.gov, or call 601-576-6850.
To learn more about school field trips to the Two Mississippi Museums or to make a field trip reservation visit https://2mm.mdah.ms.gov/learn/field-trips.
MDAH offices, archives library, and the Grand Village of the Natchez Indians will be closed Monday, February 20, for President’s Day.
Visit www.mdah.ms.gov/explore-mississippi for more information about our one-of-a-kind museums, historical sites and cultural attractions throughout the state. Learn more about researching at archives here.
Tune in with Suzanne Marrs, Eudora Welty's friend and biographer, for an online discussion of Welty's Pulitzer Prize–winning novel, The Optimist's Daughter. For more information, visit welty.mdah.ms.gov/events, or call 601-353-7762.
Join the Eudora Welty House & Garden for a guided camellia walk and flash sale led by Paige Mizell of Mizell Camellia Nursery. Learn interesting facts about the varieties of camellias Welty grew during a walk-and-talk in the Welty Garden and shop for old-fashioned specialty camellias grown by Paige's family nursery until plants are sold. A portion of the proceeds benefits the Eudora Welty Foundation. For more information, call 601-353-7762, or email info@mdah.ms.gov.
Are you interested in beginning the journey of tracing your African American family tree? Join us for our Beginning African American Genealogy Workshop presented by Joyce Dixon-Lawson at 10 a.m. on Saturday, February 25, in the William F. Winter Archives & History Building. This workshop will guide participants on how to start genealogical research by using census, county, Bible, cemetery, and other public records available in MDAH archival collections. This program is free and open to the public.
Do you have artifacts that tell a family story or illuminate a piece of Mississippi history? Join us for Community Curation Day: Donating Family Artifacts and Papers at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 11, in the William F. Winter Archives & History Building. MDAH professional archivists and collections staff will explain the MDAH collection policy for donating documents, photographs, and/or 3D artifacts.
The following streets around the Two Mississippi Museums and the William F. Winter Building—Amite Street, Jefferson Street, Mississippi Street, and North Street—will be closed Saturday, February 11, for the Dixie National Rodeo Parade that begins at 10:30 a.m.
Visitors who arrive by 10 a.m. may access the parking garage by turning off of High Street south onto Jefferson Street. The streets will reopen once the parade ends around 11:30 a.m.