Mississippi’s bold new Civil Rights Museum offers unflinching view of US history

The sculptures blocked my path and rooted me to the spot. Etched with the name and alleged crime of each known lynching victim in Mississippi, these tall monoliths pierced the galleries like stab wounds.

Visiting the new Mississippi Civil Rights Museum is intense, shaming and shocking – just like the subject it covers – and it tackles its topic with unflinching, unapologetic rigour.

The first state-sponsored museum dedicated to the movement, it opens at 222 North Street, Jackson, on 9 December alongside the Museum of Mississippi History. The joint launch and shared entrance is no coincidence.