FROM MDAH RELEASES — The Old Capitol Museum begins the new year with a Luminaries and Legends Hall of Fame spotlight exhibit celebrating Mississippian John Roy Lynch.

Courtesy of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History.

Lynch (1847-1939) became one of the first African Americans to serve in the United States Congress. Born into slavery across the Mississippi River from Natchez in Vidalia, Louisiana, Lynch rose quickly in the world of state and national politics after the Civil War. He was a member of the Mississippi Legislature from 1869 to 1873, serving as Speaker of the House of Representatives. During that time, he and his fellow Republicans spearheaded many longstanding initiatives, including the creation of public schools in Mississippi.

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FROM MDAH RELEASES — The National Endowment for the Humanities has awarded a $100,000 Humanities Access grant to MDAH to launch an online classroom learning initiative in December 2017.

The project will extend the reach of the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum directly into schools by using state-of-the-art equipment and multimedia programs delivered on the web. Students will communicate with curators, historians, and history makers and interact with artifacts, stories, music, and art as they experience the museums from their classrooms before and after visits to the site. Continue reading

FROM MDAH RELEASES — The first woman elected lieutenant governor of Mississippi, a pioneering transplant surgeon, a civil rights leader and legislator, the “king of rock and roll,” and a successful journalist and women’s rights advocate have been elected to the Mississippi Hall of Fame. The board of trustees of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History chose Evelyn Gandy, James Hardy, Aaron Henry, Elvis Presley, and Ida B. Wells as the 2016 inductees at a special December board meeting.

“The contributions and accomplishments of these five Mississippians are astonishing, and a true testament to the character of the people of the state,” said MDAH director Katie Blount. “The Hall of Fame is enriched by the addition of these men and women.” Continue reading

“We are excited to have these symbols of statehood in the capital city’s oldest building,” said Old Capitol Museum director Lauren Miller. “There is no substitute for the firsthand connection to history these artifacts give us.”

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