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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
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State lawmakers passed a bill funding a state civil rights and history museum yesterday. Anthony DiFatta

Construction of a civil rights museum and a history museum for the state of Mississippi is a go after lawmakers passed a bill moving it forward yesterday.

The bill provides $20 million for the civil rights structure and $18 million for the Mississippi history museum.

“I thank the Mississippi Legislature for their help in establishing museums to commemorate the history of our state and honor the Civil Rights Movement,” Gov. Haley Barbour said in a statement. “The Civil Rights Museum and the Museum of Mississippi History will serve as outstanding projects to teach the lessons of our past and honor those who shaped our great state. Both will be positive for our state’s image.”

Also see: “Civil Rights Museum Funding Advances in House”

Previous Comments

This is great for Jackson and great for Mississippi. My only concern is the fact that Haley had to come back to town to make it happen. I’m not mad about it, I just wonder what will happen in our legislature when he is no longer the Governor. He seems to be the only person who can make them get anything done, especially in the Senate. Who will pull the strings when he goes back to Washington?

Mississippi native Donna Ladd and partner Todd Stauffer founded the Jackson Free Press in 2002 in the capital city. The heavily awarded local newspaper did many investigations heralded across the state and nation and served as a paper of record due to its diversity, inclusion, in-depth reporting and deep connection to readers and dedication to narrative change in and about Mississippi. In 2022, the nonprofit Mississippi Free Press, founded by Ladd and JFP Associate Publisher Kimberly Griffin in 2020, purchased the journalism assets and archives of the Jackson Free Press. A Google grant through AAN Publishers enabled Newspack's integration of the JFP archives into the Mississippi Free Press website to become part of a more searchable archive of recent Mississippi history and essential journalism.