Next Phase of Mississippi Freedom Trail Launches with 12 New Markers

Announcement by the Mississippi Humanities Council

July 6, 2022

#FreedomTrail
#CivilRights

The Mississippi Freedom Trail was created to commemorate the people and places in the state that played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement. With the first markers dedicated in 2011, the trail now includes over 30 sites. Under the coordination of the Mississippi Humanities Council, twelve new marker sites have been selected. Visit Mississippi, the state’s tourism office, has asked the Humanities Council to help coordinate the next phase of the trail.

With special federal funds to support tourism development, Visit Mississippi has funding in place for twenty new markers to be completed by the end of 2024. The MHC is coordinating the selection, writing, and dedication of these new markers. The council has assembled a scholars committee of historians and community leaders which has selected the next eleven civil rights sites to be commemorated.

The twelve new markers include:

Victoria Gray Adams – Hattiesburg
Berglund School protests – McComb
Dorie & Joyce Ladner – Palmers Crossing
Henry Reaves & the Benton County Movement – Benton County
Alexander vs. Holmes – Lexington
Grenada School Integration Crisis – Grenada
Lawrence Guyot – Pass Christian
Annie Devine – Canton
United League of Mississippi– Holly Springs
Meridian Movement – Meridian
Benjamin Murph and the Laurel Movement – Laurel
Natchez NAACP Headquarters – Natchez

All of these new markers will be researched and written by scholars and dedicated in 2023 and 2024.

“We couldn’t be more excited to work with Visit Mississippi to preserve and promote Mississippi’s vital civil rights history,” said MHC Executive Director Dr. Stuart Rockoff. “Our hope is these markers not only attract tourists but also strengthen our communities by helping all Mississippians appreciate our state’s vital civil rights history.” Eight additional markers will be selected by the committee from an open application process. The first deadline for these Freedom Trail applications will be September 1.

To learn more about the Mississippi Freedom Trail and to apply for a marker, visit www.mshumanities.org.

The Mississippi Humanities Council is funded by Congress through the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide public programs in traditional liberal arts disciplines to serve nonprofit groups in Mississippi. The MHC creates opportunities for Mississippians to learn about themselves and the larger world and enriches communities through civil conversations about our history and culture.