By: Meredith Biesinger, Magnolia Tribune
The Two Mississippi Museums are expansive—200,000 square feet of galleries, exhibits, and interactive spaces—but size is only part of the wonder.
If you think history lives only in books or dusty archives, think again. Walking into Jackson’s Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum is like stepping into a story that’s still unfolding.
Opened in December 2017 to mark the state’s bicentennial, these museums aren’t just collections of artifacts—they’re places where Mississippians tell their own stories, where the past is alive, immediate, and, sometimes, impossible to forget.
The Two Mississippi Museums are expansive—200,000 square feet of galleries, exhibits, and interactive spaces—but size is only part of the wonder. You can lift a mound builder’s basket, sit in a church pew from another century, or step into a recreated juke joint and let the music wash over you. Every corner invites you to lean closer, to linger, to feel life as it was lived. From the first people who called this land home to the music, literature, and art that continue to define Mississippi today, the museums make history tangible in a way no textbook ever could.
Earlier this year, I visited the special Katrina exhibit, “Hurricane Katrina: Mississippi Remembers,” Photographs by Melody Golding, which opened in March and will run through November. The moment I entered, I was drawn into the lives captured in each photograph. I could almost feel the damp, heavy air of the storm as I moved from one image to the next, and I was struck by the quiet courage woven into each frame.
Earlier this year, Morgan Freeman visited the exhibit and shared, “While walking through the exhibit, I was struck by a balance between reflection, deep empathy, and a recognition of resilience. Katrina took buildings and lives, but it could not take the spirit of Mississippians.” – Morgan Freeman (Melody Golding website)
Mississippi’s history is not always easy to face, but these museums meet it head-on. At the Civil Rights Museum, you walk alongside Freedom Riders, witness the bravery of activists like Vernon Dahmer, and confront the legacies of Emmett Till and Medgar Evers. These aren’t stories behind glass—they are living reminders that ordinary people can do extraordinary things. Each gallery, each artifact, each photograph carries the weight of struggle and the spark of hope that continues to shape our state.
The Museum of Mississippi History tells an equally vivid story. You feel the weight of the Civil War in relics, the resilience of communities in flood images, and the rhythm of Mississippi in the recreated juke joint. Exhibits explore daily life, cultural milestones, and moments of both tragedy and triumph. Walking through these halls, you realize Mississippi’s story is never simple. It’s layered, messy, and deeply human—and that complexity is precisely what makes it real.
These museums are more than places to visit—they are living spaces of learning, reflection, and connection. State funding made them possible, but private contributions keep exhibits fresh and programs alive. Supporting them ensures that future generations can step into these spaces, touch history, and carry its lessons forward.
From epic floods to juke joints, from shackles to marches, the Two Mississippi Museums show us who we were, who we are—and who we can be. History isn’t something distant or dusty here; it’s woven into the air, the walls, and the stories you take home with you. Whether revisiting familiar tales or discovering new stories, these museums invite you to feel, reflect, and connect.
A visit isn’t just a trip through time—it’s a reminder that Mississippi is a place of memory, resilience, and possibility. And if you’re lucky, like I was at the Katrina exhibit, you’ll leave carrying a little of that spirit with you, a renewed sense of connection to the people, struggles, and triumphs that built this place we call home.