Gulf Coast Vietnamese Narratives: A Story of Refuge and Resilience of the Mississippi Gulf Coast Vietnamese
2025-05-03 16:00 - 18:00 (America/Chicago) | Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum, 115 1st St, Biloxi, MS, 39530-4703, United States
Gulf Coast Vietnamese Narratives: Honoring a Legacy at the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum
The Gulf Coast Vietnamese Narratives project seeks to establish the first permanent Vietnamese exhibit at the Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum in Biloxi, Mississippi. This exhibit will honor and preserve the rich history, contributions, and resilience of the Vietnamese American community along the Gulf Coast, particularly in the seafood industry. By sharing personal stories, artifacts, photographs, and multimedia presentations, this exhibit will provide an immersive educational experience, fostering cultural appreciation and historical understanding for visitors of all backgrounds.
The project highlights the journey of Vietnamese refugees who settled along the Gulf Coast in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, rebuilding their lives through the seafood industry. This exhibit will explore themes of migration, resilience, economic contributions, cultural preservation, and intergenerational identity. By integrating oral histories and community artifacts, we aim to create a compelling narrative that captures the essence of the Vietnamese American experience in this region.
A launch and reception will be held on May 3rd, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. This free-admission event will include:

A showcase of local photographers who captured images of Vietnamese refugee communities.
Former residents of East Biloxi, now adults, revisiting their childhood photos featured in the exhibit.
Traditional cultural food offerings.
A dragon dance performance outside the museum.
A cultural speaker discussing the Vietnamese American journey and contributions to the Gulf Coast.

"The Farming Freedom" premiere
2025-05-04 11:00 - 13:00 | MS
The Farming Freedom television premiere is officially set for May 4 at 11am!

Here’s how to watch:

Set your reminders now!
Add the WLBT app on your Roku, Amazon Fire, or Apple TV streaming devices now!
Stream the documentary live on May 4 at 11am on the WLBT streaming app!
If you live in the central/southwest Mississippi viewing area, you can watch it on WLBT Channel 3 at 11am on May 4!

Lastly, if you miss the premiere, Farming Freedom will still be available on the WLBT streaming app to watch anytime, nationwide!

https://farmingfreedom.rsvpify.com

To license this documentary for a screening in your classroom, church, or museum, and to book a Q&A or panel discussion, please email Kayla Turner Thomas at kaylaturner91@gmail.com.

Synopsis: The ups and downs of one Bolivar County farm family tell the story of Black land ownership in Mississippi, and the long history of obstructions that challenged land ownership for America’s formerly enslaved for more than a century.

Over time, more than 90% of Black land was ultimately lost or dispossessed.

The experiences of this Mississippi Delta family, combined with interviews from historians, give insight into what contributed to this massive Black land loss, with history pointing to mob violence and federal loan discrimination, but also the impact of the Great Migration. Aiming to enlighten and inspire, Farming Freedom also looks ahead to the opportunities for closing the wealth gap between non-Black and Black landowners today.

Speakers Bureau: "The Challenges of the First Fifty Years of Women's Suffrage"
2025-05-06 19:00 - 20:30 | South Mississippi Genealogical & Historical Society, 307 2nd Ave, Hattiesburg, MS, 39401-3887, United States
Dr. Rebecca Tuuri’s presentation examines the first fifty years of the women’s suffrage in Mississippi, with a focus on the work of the Mississippi League of Women Voters (LWV) from the months before the ratification of the Susan B. Anthony Amendment through the late 1960s when the state’s League was transformed into the progressive and interracial group that it is today. Nationally, the LWV was the organization that suffrage leader Carrie Chapman Catt founded in 1920 to replace the National American Woman Suffrage Association and to help educate the newly enfranchised woman voters in America. Therefore, the LWV in Mississippi was arguably the most important women’s voting organization in the state. This talk illuminates the successes and challenges of Mississippi women’s early efforts to empower voting women around the state.

Mississippi Freedom Trail marker unveiling for Emmett J. Stringer
2025-05-08 11:00 - 12:30 | Catfish Alley, 116 4th St S, Columbus, MS, 39701
The Mississippi Humanities Council and Visit Mississippi will unveil a new Mississippi Freedom Trail marker for Emmett J. Stringer, a dentist from the Mississippi Delta who fought for civil rights in Columbus and Lowndes County. The marker for Stringer was one of several the Council will unveil this year. Stringer founded the NAACP Columbus branch in 1953, serving as its president, before being elected as the NAACP’s statewide president.

This unveiling is part of the Columbus Eighth of May Celebration held in Catfish Alley at 11:00 a.m.

Speakers Bureau: “A Look at Mande (West African) Culture Through Traditional Music"
2025-05-09 13:00 - 14:30 | Instant Impact Global Prep, 319 US-61, Natchez, MS, 39120, United States
In this presentation, Jerry Jenkins will give the listener a glimpse of the Mande Culture of West Africa. In the tradition of the Mande, the history and culture is orally preserved in the minds and through the music of the Djeli (oral librarian/mandenka hereditary professional musicians). The establishment of the Mali Empire can be recalled and retold in the musical piece of the legendary Densoba (great warrior) Sunjata. This discussion explores the function of the Mande music and musical instruments, Mande class system, songs, ceremonies and stories. The discussion also examines the influence of West Africa on American culture and why the djembe was outlawed during slavery. Participants will learn about the djembe, its introduction by drummers like Babatunde Olatunji in 1950 and Ladji Camara from Guinea, and how it spread throughout America.
“A Look at Mande (West African) Culture Through Traditional Music”

Speakers Bureau: Music of the War Between the States, 1861 to 1865
2025-05-17 14:00 - 15:30 | Mississippi Final Stands Interpretive Center, 607 Grisham St, Baldwyn, MS, 38824-8541, United States
Speaker William P Arinder explores music of the War Between the States, 1861 to 1865 played on the Appalachian Mountain. Dulcimer, banjo-mier and wooden spoons plus period clothing are worn during this talk. Audience may help play the spoons.

Speakers Bureau: “No One Writes Songs about Polyester: Re-making Cotton’s Image in the Late Twentieth Century”
2025-05-20 18:00 - 19:30 | Anguilla Methodist Church, 631 Front St, Anguilla, MS, 38721, United States
Speaker: James Giesen
Mississippi has long reigned as the capital of cotton country, but by the mid-twentieth century, the crop’s dominance faced a serious threat from synthetic upstarts like Polyester and Rayon. This talk opens in the storied lobby of Memphis’s Peabody Hotel, where a Delta planter from Clarksdale tries to rally powerful cotton interests to rescue their struggling industry—not through farming innovation, but by transforming how the world saw their product. Cotton had become the fabric of choice for hippies and civil rights activists, while the country’s rich and famous embraced Polyester for its sheen and ease of care. To save their livelihood, these cotton leaders launched Cotton, Inc. and the “Fabric of Our Lives” campaign, one of the most memorable advertising efforts in American history.
This fascinating story of cultural reinvention shows how an iconic crop adapted to a changing America and left a lasting impression on fashion, marketing, and the landscape of the Mississippi Delta. It’s a tale that connects agriculture, advertising, and American identity—perfect for anyone curious about how the threads of our past are woven into the fabric of our lives.

Speaker Series: Smokye Joe Frank
2025-05-27 17:30 - 19:00 | Historic Natchez Foundation, 108 S. Commerce St., Natchez, MS, United States
The 2024-2025 season is an annual program of the Natchez Historical Society, consisting of 8 regular monthly presentations by expert speakers on humanities topics pertinent to the history of the Natchez area. Scheduled for May 27, 2025:
Smokye Joe Frank, Retired Archeologist and Local Historian: Tracking the Tracks: The Natchez & Hamburg Railroad and the Locomotive Mississippi

Speakers Bureau: “A Look at Mande (West African) Culture Through Traditional Music”
2025-06-14 10:00 - 11:30 | Halls Ferry Park, 1401 Walnut Street, Vicksburg, MS, 39180, United States
Jerry Jenkins will give the listener a glimpse of the Mande Culture of West Africa. In the tradition of the Mande, the history and culture is orally preserved in the minds and through the music of the Djeli (oral librarian/mandenka hereditary professional musicians). The establishment of the Mali Empire can be recalled and retold in the musical piece of the legendary Densoba (great warrior) Sunjata.
This discussion explores the function of the Mande music and musical instruments, Mande class system, songs, ceremonies and stories. The discussion also examines the influence of West Africa on American culture and why the djembe was outlawed during slavery. Participants will learn about the djembe, its introduction by drummers like Babatunde Olatunji in 1950 and Ladji Camara from Guinea, and how it spread throughout America.

Alexander v. Holmes County Freedom Trail Marker Unveiling
2025-06-17 10:00 - 17:00 | S. V. Marshall Elementary School, 12572 MS Highway 12, Lexington, MS
The U. S. Supreme Court’s 1969 decision in the Beatrice Alexander v Holmes County Board of Education case is perhaps one of the least-recognized but most significant single victories for school integration in this country. Originating in Holmes County, MS, and named for Beatrice Alexander, a student in the county school district, the decree mandated segregated schools throughout the nation to end the delay that existed since 1954 and integrate immediately. A marker on grounds where Beatrice attended school etches the Holmes County community’s influence on school integration into the annals of this nation’s history.

Date: June 17, 2025 | Time: 10:00 am | Location: S. V. Marshall Elementary School 12572 MS Highway 12 Lexington, MS (on MS Highway 12, between Lexington and Tchula).

Speakers Bureau: "Wanted--1,000,000 Frogs: Weird and Wonderful Things Found in Mississippi Newspapers"
2025-06-17 18:30 - 20:00 | Anguilla Methodist Church, 631 Front St, Anguilla, MS, 38721, United States
Speakers Bureau lecturer Tracy Carr presents: “Wanted–1,000,000 Frogs: Weird and Wonderful Things Found in Mississippi Newspapers”
A monkey named Jocko who lived at the Great Southern Hotel in Gulfport, the biggest cabbage in Coahoma County, and lots and lots of crime: these are the stories found in Mississippi’s historical newspapers. Ranging from the late 1800s to midcentury, these newspaper articles from across the state are given context (and some fact-checking) in this presentation.

Speakers Bureau: "The Soul of Southern Cooking"
2025-06-19 | Mary C. O’Keefe Cultural Center of Arts and Education, 1600 Government St, Ocean Springs, Mississippi, 39564-3828
Brinda Willis presents “The Soul of Southern Cooking I & II: Miz Bob’s Second Batch Cooking from a Mississippi Slave Girl’s Table.”
Miz Bob (known as Bob Hunter to friends and family) learned to cook from her mother and her grandmother. Her mental catalogue includes over 500 recipes and follows the art of cooking from the slave kitchen to her great-grandmother’s table. Miz Bob began teaching her daughter, Kathy Starr, all 500 recipes at about age 5, and in the process, Kathy Starr has preserved a lost art of cooking for future generations.

Speakers Bureau: "From the Scraps of My Life in the Mississippi Delta"
2025-06-19 10:30 - 12:00 | Gumtree Museum of Art, 211 W Main St,, Tupelo, MS, 38804, United States
J Janice Coleman presents: “From the Scraps of My Life in the Mississippi Delta”
Everyone loves to hear stories, and everyone loves the feel and the memories quilts and other homemade patchwork bring to mind. This combination of narrative and the nostalgia a patchwork coverlet evokes inspires people to talk about the quilts, dolls, and clothes their elders used to make for them. In her presentation, Dr. Coleman brings evokes these feelings in her audiences by choosing patchwork pieces that are relevant to the occasion and then telling the stories they pass on. Sometimes, Dr. Coleman presents in character. For example, if she is teaching Eudora Welty’s “A Worn Path,” she may present in character as the protagonist Phoenix Jackson. In closing, Dr. Coleman always encourages audience members to consider the scraps of their own lives (old quilts and other coverlets, faded tee-shirts and jeans, worn shirts, skirts, and dresses) as materials that they can use to create their own meaningful patchworks. Dr. Coleman believes these recycled or re-purposed items can become priceless when they are recognized as part of the thread that runs through a family history. “With my scraps, I demonstrate the transformation between what they were and the art they have become,” says Dr. Coleman.

Speakers Bureau: "A Look at Mande (West African) Culture Through Traditional Music"
2025-06-19 13:30 - 14:30 | Laurel Jones County Black History Museum and Arts, 820 W 5th St, Laurel, 39440, United States
Jerry Jenkins presents: “A Look at Mande (West African) Culture Through Traditional Music”
This presentation will give the listener a glimpse of the Mande Culture of West Africa. In the tradition of the Mande, the history and culture is orally preserved in the minds and through the music of the Djeli (oral librarian/mandenka hereditary professional musicians). The establishment of the Mali Empire can be recalled and retold in the musical piece of the legendary Densoba (great warrior) Sunjata. This discussion explores the function of the Mande music and musical instruments, Mande class system, songs, ceremonies and stories. The discussion also examines the influence of West Africa on American culture and why the djembe was outlawed during slavery. Participants will learn about the djembe, its introduction by drummers like Babatunde Olatunji in 1950 and Ladji Camara from Guinea, and how it spread throughout America.

Sunday Screening: Farming Freedom: The Inspiring Story of Black Land Ownership in Mississippi
2025-06-22 14:00 - 16:30 | TWO MISSISSIPPI MUSEUMS, 222 NORTH STREET , JACKSON, MS, United States
Farming Freedom: The Inspiring Story of Black Land Ownership in Mississippi
Join us for a screening of Farming Freedom: The Inspiring Story of Black Land Ownership in Mississippi at 2 p.m. on Sunday, June 22, in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums. Directed by Kayla Thomas, this ninety-minute film tells the story of African American farmers in Mississippi and their struggle for land ownership after enslavement through the present day. Following the screening, a panel will take place featuring moderator Howard Ballou, director Kayla Thomas, Henry Harris, and Tamu Green of SR1 Agriculture and Food Science Department. This event is a part of the Juneteenth Celebration sponsored by Ingalls Shipbuilding. For more information, call 601-576-6850.

Ideas on Tap: Small Town, Big Dreams – The Power of Community and Culture
2025-06-28 11:00 - 13:00 | Organic Culture, 114 Main Street, McComb, MS
In Mississippi, humanities, arts, and culture aren’t just enrichment, they’re currency. In small towns like McComb, these stories of resilience, creativity, and heritage hold the power to revitalize local economies, attract tourism, and build stronger, more connected communities. And while these stories begin locally, their value echoes across the entire state, shaping how Mississippi is remembered, celebrated, and reimagined.

We’re excited to invite you to a special community conversation, Ideas on Tap: “Small Town, Big Dreams – The Power of Community and Culture,” on Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Organic Culture, 114 Main Street in McComb, Mississippi. This event is free and open to the public, with refreshments provided.

From Douglass to Duck Hill, The Bridging of two America's
2025-07-05 13:00 - 15:00 | Fondren Presbyterian Church, 3220 Old Canton Rd, Jackson , MS , 39216
From Douglass to Duck Hill is a public-facing racial healing and remembrance event designed to engage Mississippians in a deeper understanding of the legacy of racial violence and the urgent need for historical reckoning. Timed strategically the day after Independence Day, this gathering anchors itself in Frederick Douglass’ iconic speech, “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”, and connects it to the 1937 lynching of Roosevelt “Red” Townes and Robert “Bootjack” McDaniels in Duck Hill, Mississippi—one of the most publicly documented lynchings in U.S. history.
Through a combination of virtual keynote addresses, live music, historical readings, documentary excerpts, and a sacred soil ceremony, the event seeks to educate, honor, and heal. It is part of a broader movement led by Mississippi2 to preserve suppressed Black histories, foster intergenerational dialogue, and build pathways to justice and community restoration.

Reading the Room
2025-07-10 18:00 - 20:00 | Organic Culture, 114 Main Street, McComb, MS
The Mississippi Humanities Council is pleased to partner with the Mississippi Book Festival and Organic Culture to present our next “Reading the Room” event.
If you love reading, socializing and any excuse to talk about books, then join us! Thursday, July 10th at 6:00 pm |Organic Culture | 114 Main St, McComb, MS 39648
bring any book you are currently reading
+
enjoy some time set aside to read on your own
+
talk books with your neighbors over drinks and snacks
+
celebrate Mississippi’s vibrant literary culture with us!

REGISTER HERE

The Small-Town Preservation Symposium in Eupora, MS
2025-07-12 10:00 - 15:00 | Eupora Civic Center, 2135 W Roane Ave, Eupora, MS, 39744, United States
The SouthWay Foundation host The Small-Town Preservation Symposium in Eupora, Mississippi bringing local, state, and nation-wide leaders to evoke discussions on the preservation movement, cultural heritage, and the value of sharing an inclusive history. The goal of this symposium is to expose an intergenerational and multi-racial audience, from across Mississippi, to the rich history, resilience, and healing fraught in preservation work and its craft, especially in small towns. In addition, it wants to spark imagination, rooted in history, of the complexity to represent places of memory with integrity.
10:15 am Panel Conversation on How to Do Preservation: Nakita Reed- (Host of Tangible Remnants podcast); Panelist- Belinda Stewart (Belinda Stewart Architects), Dr. Kwesi Daniels (Tuskegee University)
11:00 am Community Conversation Engagement and Q & A
11:45 am Catered Lunch
12:45 pm Panel Conversation on Preservation Trades with Jonn Hankins (President of New Orleans Master Crafts Guild (NOMCG) Inc), Dewayne Orr and Madison Hawkins, Ramsey Brothers, Paul Orr (Eupora VoTech)

SouthWay’s Small Town Preservation Symposium
Saturday, July 12, 2025: 10:00 am to 3:00 pm
Eupora Civic Center, 2135 W Roane Ave, Eupora, MS 39744

Reading the Room
2025-07-23 18:00 - 20:00 | Exploradora Coffee, 463 Ryland Wy, Oxford, MS, 38655, United States
The Mississippi Humanities Council is pleased to partner with the Mississippi Book Festival and The University of Mississippi Department of English to present our next “Reading the Room” event.
If you love reading, socializing and any excuse to talk about books, then join us!
Wednesday, July 23rd at 6:00 pm | Exploradora Coffee | 463 Ryland Way, Oxford, MS 38655
Bring any book you are currently reading + enjoy some time set aside to read on your own + talk books with your neighbors over drinks and snacks + celebrate Mississippi’s vibrant literary culture with us!

REGISTER HERE

Sunday Screening: "Talkin' Clarksdale: A Contemporary Blues Documentary"
2025-07-27 14:00 - 16:00 | TWO MISSISSIPPI MUSEUMS, 222 NORTH STREET , JACKSON, MS, United States
Sunday Screening of Talkin’ Clarksdale: A Contemporary Blues Documentary
Join us for a screening of Talkin’ Clarksdale: A Contemporary Blues Documentary at 2 p.m. Sunday, July 27, in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums. Directed by Tommy Slack, the sixty-minute film takes a look at contemporary blues music, exploring its influence on the voices of today’s musicians, venue owners, historians, and philanthropists dedicated to preserving its legacy. Following the screening, a panel discussion will take place with Slack and producer Demmette Guidry. For more information, call 601-576-6850.

Speakers Bureau: "Mississippi Telling"
2025-08-01 18:00 - 19:00 | Cambridge Methodist Church, 212 Ross Ave, Oxford, MS, 38655-4822, United States
Rebecca Jernigan provides an overview of the storytelling Renaissance in America with emphasis upon the oral tradition in Mississippi. The literary tradition of Mississippi owes much to the rich storytelling legacy that riddles the tales of our families and our communities as reflected in the works of many of our best authors: Welty, Wright, Faulkner, Henley, Williams. As part of the presentation, Dr. Jernigan performs as a story teller calling upon on her rich repertoire of original tales and literary masterpieces gearing her choices of tales according to her audience and offers material for children and adults.

Possumtown Book Fest
2025-08-16 09:00 - 17:00 | Columbus Arts Council, Columbus , MS
The Possumtown Book Fest brings literary and humanities programming to the communities of Northeast Mississippi. Last year, nearly 1,000 people attended the inaugural festival, which featured 25 nationally published authors from across the South and 25 independent authors from the local area. All panels and activities are free and open to the public, and we host a free book giveaway for children while supplies last.
This year’s event will consist of eight literary panels throughout the day, free writing workshops, and a children’s program and local author showcase running concurrently during the morning.
The first panel is inspired by the books Choctaw Tales and Choctaw Traditions, which were recently published by the University Press of Mississippi. Co-editors Rae Nell Vaughn, Eddie Johnson, and Jay Wesley are scheduled to give a presentation about the history, culture, and folklore of the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians.
The second panel will be a moderated conversation with Wright Thompson, author of The Barn: The Secret History of a Murder in Mississippi. A journalist by training, Thompson describes how historic forces created an environment that led to the racially motivated murder of Emmett Till in Money, Mississippi, and how the social order has stymied attempts for justice, change, and racial healing. The Barn is this year’s selection for our Community Read, a program organized by Fant Memorial Library at Mississippi University for Women and sponsored by Friendly City Books, the Columbus-Lowndes Public Library System, the City of Columbus, and the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science. The book fest is the kickoff of a year-long programming series engaging with The Barn, and we are collaborating with the Mississippi Humanities Council on program content.

Sunday Screening: The Last American House Party
2025-08-24 14:00 - 16:00 | TWO MISSISSIPPI MUSEUMS, 222 NORTH STREET , JACKSON, MS, United States
Join us for a screening of The Last American House Party at 2 p.m. Sunday, August 24, in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium of the Two Mississippi Museums. This sixty-minute film follows the Neshoba County Fair, an eight-day, 100-year-old tradition where families and communities come together for food and entertainment. Following the screening, a panel discussion will take place with director Bryan Carpenter and Brad Ogletree, whose family owns a cabin at the Neshoba County Fair and who appears in the film. The panel discussion will be moderated by Larry Morrissey of the Mississippi Arts Commission who has recorded oral histories of several cabin owners.
For more information, call 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov

America250 Mississippi Grants Workshop
2025-09-02 14:00 - 15:00 | Virtual Event
Join the MHC program staff on Tuesday, September 2, from 2-3 p.m. for a Zoom webinar exploring America250 Mississippi grant opportunities. The webinar is free and open to all. Registration required.

After the webinar, participants may request a one-on-one consultation regarding programs or events they are planning.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/america250-mississippi-grants-workshop-tickets-1612716922729?aff=oddtdtcreator

Mississippi Freedom Trail Unveiling of Fulton Chapel Marker
2025-09-02 14:00 - 16:00 | Fulton Chapel, University of Mississippi, Oxford, 617 All American Drive, University, MS, 38677, United States
The Fulton Chapel Protest was one of the most significant student-led demonstrations in our state’s history. In February 1970, Black students organized a protest demanding fair treatment, more representation, and institutional change. Eighty-nine students were arrested, but their courage sparked lasting progress at the university, pushing the school toward greater inclusion and accountability.

About the Mississippi Freedom Trail:
The Mississippi Freedom Trail pays tribute to Mississippi’s profound impact on the U.S. civil rights movement. The statewide initiative features over 40 markers commemorating the individuals, locations, and pivotal events that were instrumental in the struggle for civil rights. Administered by Visit Mississippi in partnership with the Mississippi Humanities Council, the Mississippi Freedom Trail is supported by a State Tourism Grant from the US. Economic Development Administration.

For more information about the Mississippi Freedom Trail and to explore tourism offerings in Mississippi, visit visitmississippi.org.

Sunday Screening: Lynching in History and Memory
2025-09-07 14:00 - 17:00 | TWO MISSISSIPPI MUSEUMS, 222 NORTH STREET , JACKSON, MS, United States
Join us for a screening of a series of short films, focused on racial violence and lynching, Bootjack and Red, My Father’s Name, and Sites of Memory at 2 p.m. Sunday, September 7, in the Craig H. Neilsen Auditorium. The films are collectively 60 minutes and will be followed by a panel conversation featuring filmmakers Talamieka Brice (Bootjack and Red), Susanna Styron and Connie Royster (My Father’s Name), and Antonio Tarrell (Sites of Memory). For more information, call 601-576-6850 or email info@mdah.ms.gov.

Mississippi Freedom Trail Unveiling of Dr. Clinton Battle Marker
2025-09-11 11:00 - 13:00 | Mt. Beulah Missionary Baptist Church, 310 Church Ave, Indianola, MS, 38751, United States
Dr. Clinton Battle was a physician and civil rights leader in Indianola whose activism brought critical change to the Mississippi Delta. As president of the local NAACP chapter in the 1950s, Dr. Battle led voter registration drives, offering a beacon of hope and leadership in the Delta during a time of brutal repression. He also used his medical practice to support activists and the Black community, often at great personal and professional risk. The marker pays tribute to his courageous, multifaceted service and fearless work for justice during one of the most turbulent periods in state history.

About the Mississippi Freedom Trail:
The Mississippi Freedom Trail pays tribute to Mississippi’s profound impact on the U.S. civil rights movement. The statewide initiative features over 40 markers commemorating the individuals, locations, and pivotal events that were instrumental in the struggle for civil rights. Administered by Visit Mississippi in partnership with the Mississippi Humanities Council, the Mississippi Freedom Trail is supported by a State Tourism Grant from the US. Economic Development Administration.

For more information about the Mississippi Freedom Trail and to explore tourism offerings in Mississippi, visit visitmississippi.org.

Mississippi Book Festival
2025-09-13 | Mississippi State Capitol, 400 High St, Jackson, MS, 39201, United States
Each year, the Mississippi Book Festival unites readers and authors in an exhilarating celebration of books.

MHC is proud to be a sponsor of the festival since it began. We will sponsor several panels, including a highlight of our prison education program.
The Capitol’s stately rooms and nearby Galloway Church turn into venues for distinguished panelists, the streets in between transform into a bustling marketplace for booksellers, and the grounds and Capitol Rotunda become a hub of lively exchange. FREE AND OPEN TO ALL, the festival brings the written word to fun, festive life with authors, panel discussions, book signings, family-friendly activities, food trucks, live music, and more!
