President Trump Will Participate In Two Mississippi Museums Openings On Saturday

Bicentennial Celebration & Opening of the Two Mississippi Museums

Date: Saturday, December 9, 2017
Time: 10:20 AM to 11:50 AM
Place: Museum of Mississippi History & Mississippi Civil Rights Museum
222 North Jackson Street, Jackson, Mississippi 39059

Purpose:  To celebrate Mississippi’s bicentennial and the openings of the Two Mississippi Museums - the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.

The State of Mississippi will hold a grand opening ceremony for the Two Mississippi Museums on the occasion of Mississippi’s bicentennial. The two conjoined museums recap Mississippi’s rich history, with particular emphasis on the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement.

Located in the heart of downtown Jackson, the Museum of Mississippi History explores over 15,000 years of history through interactive exhibits, educational programs, and hundreds of artifacts.

The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum contains eight interactive galleries that highlight the struggle for freedom and shares stories about the Mississippi movement that changed the nation. The museum aims to promote greater understanding of the systematic oppression of black Mississippians and their fight for equality that transformed the state and nation. Seven of the galleries encircle a central space called “This Little Light of Mine.” In the central space, a dramatic sculpture glows brighter as visitors gather.

The President was personally invited by Governor Phil Bryant (R, MS) to join the day’s festivities. There will be two programs celebrating the openings of the museums - a shorter program in which he will participate inside the Two Museums and a two-hour program outside of the museum. The shorter program will have an audience of approximately 300 state leaders, civil rights leaders, and community members who helped support the building of the two museums.

Earlier this week, on December 5, Secretary Zinke recommended that the President designate the Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home in Jackson, Mississippi as a National Monument under the Antiquities Act. The great civil rights leader Medgar Evers changed the course of American history significantly for the better. His murder was an outrage. His life and tragic death inspired a new generation of civil rights leaders of all backgrounds. The civil rights movement plays a key role in the American story and his home played a key role in that movement.