With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Civil rights museum planned in Miss.

Mississippi is hoping to make history again — this time with the nation's first state-sponsored civil rights museum.

This fall, officials will break ground on the civil rights museum and the companion Museum of Mississippi History in hopes of having both ready in time to celebrate the state's bicentennial in 2017.

There's one catch — $30 million is needed to finish the inside of the buildings, which share a common area.

Under the law, the state has agreed to a 50-50 split between state and private funding for 50,000 square feet of exhibits for the museums. Archives officials estimated the acquisition and creation of the exhibits at $14-$16 million....

Read entire article at Jackson Star-Ledger (MS)