MDAH News

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) is accepting grant applications for preservation projects across the state. The 2022 Mississippi Legislature has provided funding for the Community Heritage Preservation Grant Program (CHPG) and the Mississippi Historic Site Preservation Grant Program (MHSPG).

“For over 20 years, the state legislature has offered generous support for CHPG funding, which has aided in the rehabilitation of hundreds of Mississippi's historic courthouses, schools, and other landmark buildings,” said Barry White, director of the Historic Preservation Division at MDAH. “The addition of the Historic Sites Grant Program expands our role in preservation, providing support for the acquisition of significant historic properties. These grants offer incredible opportunities to preserve historic properties, tell their broader stories, and attract new visitors.”

CHPG grants help preserve, restore, rehabilitate, and interpret Mississippi courthouses and schools across the state. In communities that participate in the Certified Local Government (CLG) Program, buildings other than courthouses and schools are also eligible, as long as they are Mississippi Landmarks.

The fifty-six Certified Local Government communities in Mississippi are Aberdeen, Baldwyn, Biloxi, Booneville, Brandon, Canton, Carrollton, Carthage, Claiborne County, Clarksdale, Cleveland, Clinton, Columbia, Columbus, Como, Corinth, Durant, Gautier, Greenville, Greenwood, Hattiesburg, Hazlehurst, Hernando, Holly Springs, Indianola, Jackson, Kosciusko, Laurel, Leland, Lexington, Louisville, McComb, Meridian, Mound Bayou, Mount Olive, Natchez, New Albany, Newton, Ocean Springs, Oxford, Pascagoula, Philadelphia, Port Gibson, Quitman, Raymond, Senatobia, Sharkey County, Starkville, Tunica, Tupelo, Vicksburg, Water Valley, West, West Point, and Woodville, and Yazoo City.

State agencies, county or municipal governments, school districts, and nonprofit organizations granted 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status may submit applications. A cash match of at least twenty percent is required, and grants will be paid on a reimbursable basis upon successful completion of the project.

The Historic Sites Grant Program offers grants for the acquisition of sites related to Civil War battles, Native American archaeology, and civil rights history. Grants, which require a one-to-one match, can be used for land acquisition and property preservation costs. Colleges and universities, historical societies, state agencies, local governments, and 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations are eligible to apply.

CHPG guidelines and applications may be downloaded from the following link: CHPG Application. HSPG guidelines and applications may be downloaded from the following link: HSPG Application. The deadline to submit completed applications is September 30, 2022. The MDAH Board of Trustees will award the grants at its quarterly meeting in January 2023. For more information call 601-576-6940 or email info@mdah.ms.gov.

Higher Purpose Co. (HPC) and the National Museum of African American History and Culture are supporting free admission to the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum on Friday, July 8, and Saturday, July 9, in conjunction with the presentation of The Negro Motorist Green Book exhibit. Admission to the Two Mississippi Museums is free every Sunday.

The Two Mississippi Museums will host an entrepreneur fair in partnership with HPC Saturday, July 9, from 10 a.m.–2 p.m. in the Mississippi Hall of History.

“We are grateful to Higher Purpose Co. and the National Museum of African American History and Culture for making it possible for Mississippians to visit the Two Mississippi Museums and increase their knowledge of entrepreneurship,” said Katie Blount, director of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

“Higher Purpose Co. is excited to collaborate on this timely initiative,” said Tim Lampkin, Founder & CEO of Higher Purpose Co. “HPC is committed to amplifying positive narratives of African Americans and providing business resources to reduce the racial wealth gap in our state. This partnership is yet another example of our consistent strategy to improve the state of Mississippi.”

Support for this collaborative community program is made possible by the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The Negro Motorist Green Book offers an immersive look at the reality of travel for African Americans in mid-century America and how the annual guide served as an indispensable resource for the nation’s rising African American middle class. The exhibition was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in collaboration with award-winning author, photographer and cultural documentarian, Candacy Taylor, and made possible through the support of Exxon Mobil Corporation. 

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 Negro Motorist Green Book will open Saturday, July 2, at the Two Mississippi Museums, part of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, a Smithsonian Affiliate.  This exhibition offers an immersive look at the reality of travel for African Americans in mid-century America and how the annual guide served as an indispensable resource for the nation’s rising African American middle class. The exhibition was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service (SITES) in collaboration with award-winning author, photographer and cultural documentarian, Candacy Taylor, and made possible through the support of Exxon Mobil Corporation.

“I am ecstatic to have this exhibition housed at the Two Mississippi Museums,” said Two Mississippi Museums director Pamela D.C. Junior. “During the Great Migration families moved across the US, thus the necessity to travel and visit relatives was born. Postal worker Victor Green, innovatively responded to this need with a roadmap of havens to eat, rest, and visit. This safety net was a key guide for people of color throughout the Jim Crow south and other parts of America.”

The exhibition will include artifacts from business signs and postcards to historic footage, images, and firsthand accounts to convey not only the apprehension felt by African American travelers, but also the resilience, innovation, and elegance of people choosing to live a full American existence. Mississippi artifacts include items from the historic Riverside Hotel in Clarksdale, Hotel E.F. Young Jr. in Meridian, and many more locations listed in a Mississippi Green Book.

The exhibition will run from Saturday, July 2, through Sunday, September 25, in the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Exhibition Hall at the Two Mississippi Museums.

Museum ticket prices are $15 for adults and $8 for youth ages 4–22. Discounts are available for students, seniors, active duty military, veterans, and groups of ten or more. Admission for children under the age of three is free. Ticket price includes admission to the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, Museum of Mississippi History, and all special exhibitions. Admission on Sunday is also free.                                                                                                   

SITES and Smithsonian Affiliations are critical national outreach units at the Smithsonian Institution. For more than 70 years, SITES has been connecting Americans to their shared cultural heritage through a wide range of exhibitions about art, science, and history. Smithsonian Affiliations establishes and maintains the Smithsonian’s long-term partnerships with museums, educational organizations, and cultural institutions in the U.S., Puerto Rico, and Panama. Together, SITES and Affiliations share the Smithsonian’s vast resources with millions of people outside Washington, D.C. Visit sites.si.edu and affiliations.si.edu for more information.

ExxonMobil, one of the largest publicly traded international oil and gas companies, uses technology and innovation to help meet the world’s growing energy needs. ExxonMobil holds an industry-leading inventory of resources, is one of the largest refiners and marketers of petroleum products and its chemical company is one of the largest in the world. For more information, visit exxonmobil.com. 

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

Pamela J. Merryman, a doctoral student at Southern Methodist University, has been named the 2022 Eudora Welty Fellow. Merryman will use archival holdings at the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) to research how Eudora Welty constructed her identity in her writing.

“I am honored to have the opportunity to conduct research in the Eudora Welty archives and am grateful to those who make the Eudora Welty Research Fellowship possible,” said the 2022 Welty Fellowship recipient. “Through my research in the Welty archives, I hope to gain a deeper and broader knowledge of the personal inspiration and creative process that went into Welty’s writing of her only children’s book, The Shoe Bird. Ultimately, I seek to note how this entertaining tale of Arturo the Parrot and the bird community—who gather from all over the world to learn about the power and value of communication, love, memory, and freedom—provides insight into Welty’s other literary works that also explore these vital aspects of the human experience."

Established by MDAH and the Eudora Welty Foundation, the fellowship seeks to encourage and support research in the Eudora Welty Collection by graduate students.

“We’re grateful to the Foundation for their continued support of the fellowship,” said David Pilcher, director of the MDAH Archives and Record Services Division. “I am certain Ms. Merryman will learn a lot and make extensive use of the Welty Collection this summer.”

After receiving her BA in secondary education from Howard Payne University, Merryman completed her MA in liberal arts at Southern Methodist University where she is currently working toward her PhD. Merryman will use the $5,000 fellowship to cover travel, housing, and other expenses incurred while doing primary research at the William F. Winter Archives and History Building in Jackson.

Beginning in 1957, and over the course of more than forty years, Welty donated materials to the department, primarily literary manuscripts and photographs. At her death her remaining papers were bequeathed to MDAH and included unpublished manuscripts and 14,000 items of correspondence with family, friends, scholars, young writers, and noted writers.

The Eudora Welty Collection is the world’s finest collection of materials related to Welty and one of the most varied literary collections in the United States. 

MDAH offices, archives library, and Grand Village of the Natchez Indians will be closed Monday, July 4, in observance of Independence 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.