Special Events

On Wednesday, March 2, at noon, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History will host legislators for a special History Is Lunch program–Finding Common Ground: Lawmakers and the New Flag. Lieutenant Governor Delbert Hosemann, Speaker of the House Philip Gunn, Senator Briggs Hopson, Senator Derrick Simmons, and Representative Robert Johnson will discuss the process of adopting the new Mississippi flag.

“MDAH was proud to support the Flag Commission in its historic work,” said MDAH director Katie Blount. “We are happy to be hosting legislators for History Is Lunch to talk about the transformation that the new flag has brought to our state.”

In 2020, the Mississippi legislature passed a bill that removed the 126-year-old state flag and created a commission that would be responsible for choosing a new design to be on the November statewide ballot.

The design selected by the commission was supported overwhelmingly by the voters, ratified by the legislature as the new state flag, and signed into law by Governor Tate Reeves. This program will take place in the auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums, the same room where the flag commission met and the bill signing took place.

MDAH livestreams videos of the program at noon on Wednesdays click here.

To view this event after air time click here.

The weekly History Is Lunch lecture series of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History explores different aspects of the state's past. The hour-long programs are held in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum building at 222 North Street in Jackson.

On Thursday, February 24, at 7 p.m. the Mississippi Department of Archives and History (MDAH) will premiere The Defenders: How Lawyers Protected the Movement in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium at the Two Mississippi Museums. Presented by Butler Snow and the Foundation for Mississippi History, the documentary film was produced by Red Squared and MDAH.

The Defenders focuses on Mississippi lawyers who represented African Americans in the years leading up to and during the Civil Rights Movement. Few in number, and with limited resources, lawyers representing African Americans in Mississippi lost more cases than they won during the 1950s and 1960s. Though circumstances were difficult, hundreds of lawyers were inspired to work in Mississippi and transformed its legal infrastructure for future generations. Their work demanding equality of treatment under law for Black citizens also changed the nation.

"We knew when we opened the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum in 2017 that there were stories we had not finished telling, including the story of the role of lawyers in the movement,” said MDAH director Katie Blount. “We are proud to join our partners and the lawyers themselves in highlighting this fascinating and critically important story.”

A question and answer panel will follow the premiere and feature former State Supreme Court Justice Reuben V. Anderson, former State Supreme Court Justice Fred Banks, attorney Martha Jane Bergmark, attorney Mel Leventhal, and director Roderick Red.

To view the official trailer for The Defenders click here.

For more information on The Defenders, call 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov. 

On Saturday, November 20, join us for the Holiday Open House at the Mississippi Museum Store. The come-and-go event is free and open to the public from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Enjoy samples from Mississippi vendors, special sale prices on select merchandise, artist and maker meet-and-greet opportunities, and additional discounts for museum members.

Nick Wallace Culinary will provide tasty food samplings, and other local vendors will also offer delicious treats.

The event includes book signings, custom hand-written invitations and ornaments, complimentary gift packaging, and a 10 percent discount on all merchandise. Museum members will receive a 20 percent discount on store items. Become a museum member online at give2mississippimuseums.com or purchase a membership during the event.

The Mississippi Museum Store offers one of the state’s finest collections of folk art, local handmade crafts, and books by and about Mississippians. Find unique holiday gifts for everyone on your list this year at the Mississippi Museum Store while visiting with local artists and makers. Shop artisan-made items for Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa. Highlighted merchandise includes Walter Anderson prints, Wolfe Studio birds, Harold Miller sculptures, and Shearwater Pottery. Other Mississippi-made products featured in the store are candles, jewelry, gourmet products, museum souvenirs, newly-designed Mississippi state flag merchandise, and much more.

The Mississippi Museum Store at the Two Mississippi Museums is open Tuesday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The museums open free of charge on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. are located at 222 North Street in Jackson. Call 601-576-6921 or email store@mdah.ms.gov for more information.

On Friday, December 3, enjoy free live music, holiday decorations, and treats during the 2021 Christmas by Candlelight Tour. In addition to the traditional features of the tour—shuttle buses, model train exhibit—this year's event will coincide with the City of Jackson's Capital City Lights, the kickoff event of the city's year-long bicentennial celebration. 

The Mississippi State Capitol and four MDAH sites will be open and sporting holiday decorations: the Mississippi Governor's Mansion, the grounds of the Old Capitol Museum, Museum of Mississippi History, and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. 

Park and take advantage of the shuttle buses running between sites, walk or drive and come and go on your own schedule. The Candlelight tour takes place from 4 p.m. until 8 p.m. Capital City Lights will continue with additional activities, including shopping at two outdoor markets, Magnolia Marketplace and JXN Flea, classic cars, emergency vehicles set up in touch-a-truck style, live music, hot chocolate, caroling, marching bands, holiday décor, and of course…LIGHTS! 

Governor Tate Reeves and First Lady Elee Reeves will welcome visitors to the Mississippi Governor's Mansion, along with Santa. The model town of Possum Ridge and its trains will be displayed on the second floor of the Two Mississippi Museums—the Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum—and the Mississippi Museum Store will be open. The museums will also feature a sixteen-foot Christmas tree. The Old Capitol Museum will be decorated and lit, and choirs will perform on the grounds. A jazz ensemble will perform at the Mississippi State Capitol, which will be decorated and open for tours. 

On November 28, 1821, the Mississippi Legislature designated LeFleur's Bluff as the site of the state capitol. Jackson's first map was completed in April 1822 and consisted of the areas between High and South Streets and between Jefferson and West Streets. 

The legislature incorporated the town and named Jackson the county seat of Hinds County in 1822. The Mississippi Legislature first met in Jackson on December 23, 1822 in a nonextant structure. In 1839, legislators began convening in a newly-built statehouse, which now serves as the Old Capitol Museum. The current Mississippi State Capitol was completed in 1903.

The Capital City Lights planning committee consists of members of City of Jackson, MDAH, GJAC, Visit Jackson, Downtown Jackson Partners, local hoteliers, retailers and residents.  

For more information about the Christmas by Candlelight Tour, call 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov. For more information about Capital City Lights, email J. David Lewis at jdlewis@city.jackson.ms.us.  

The Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum are partnering with the Daughters of the American Revolution, Mississippi Veterans Affairs, and Mississippi War Veterans Memorial Commission to honor Mississippians who serve and have served in the United States Armed Forces. The event begins at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 10, on the Entergy Mississippi Plaza in front of the Two Mississippi Museums. COVID-19 precautions will be in place.

“Mississippi’s extraordinary record of military service is one of the most inspiring stories that we share in the Two Mississippi Museums,” said MDAH director Katie Blount. “We are pleased to join with our military service organizations to pay special tribute to all the many Mississippians who have served our country.”

The program will include a performance by the 41st Army Band, a moment of silence, recognition of the veterans in attendance, memorial volley, wreath laying, and a keynote speech delivered by Major General Janson D. Boyles—the Adjutant General of the Mississippi National Guard. The museums are offering free admission to those currently serving in the military, veterans, and a family member of a veteran on November 10. The museums open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. The museums open free of charge on Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information, call 601-540-2794 or email Colonel Allen McDaniel at amcdaniel@ngams.org.