The Woodville Republican: African American Museum volunteers needed

Committee discusses plans to open museum and attract visitors

By Roscoe Barnes III

Copyright (c) 2018

#HistoricWoodville
#MississippiHistory

This story is published in The Woodville Republican
(Thursday, Sept. 27, 2018)

I am honored to be part of this exciting opportunity to promote African American history in Woodville, Miss. Thanks to the Woodville Civic Club, I will join Ms. Mildred McGehee, retired Superintendent of Education for Wilkinson County, and others to help recruit volunteers for the African American Museum.

The museum is owned and operated by the Civic Club. It is housed in a historic building behind the courthouse on the corner of Royal Oak Street and Bank Street in the heart of Woodville's historic district. 

Volunteers for this project are essential as they will enable us to open the museum and assist visitors on a regular basis.

In addition to recruiting volunteers, we want to make people aware of this museum and what it has to offer. We also want to be creative and persistent in our promotion of the museum so that people will visit and invite others to come.

I wrote about the museum in two blog posts. The first one is titled “Anne Moody Featured in Mississippi Museum: Artifacts Housed at African American Museum in Woodville” (Jan. 9, 2018), and the second one is “Discovering Mississippi History: Newsletter Sheds Light on History Projects in Wilkinson County” (Feb. 2, 2018)

I look forward to the exciting days ahead as we celebrate history here in southwest Mississippi. #Mississippi

References/Resources:

To arrange a tour of the African American Museum, send request to: info@historicwoodville.com.

Information on the African American Museum and Historic Woodville is available here: http://www.historicwoodville.org and here: http://www.woodvillems.org/about-us/history

For information on the bluesmen featured in the museum, visit:

http://msbluestrail.org/blues-trail-markers/woodville-blues

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ROSCOE BARNES III, Ph.D., is a writer, chaplain, historian, and former newspaper reporter. He is the author of more than a dozen books and Gospel tracts. For more information about his work and history, see his Personal Profile here or visit his website: http://www.roscoebarnes.net. Connect with him on Twitter (@roscoebarnes3) or by email: roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com.

Discovering Mississippi History

Newsletter Sheds Light on History Projects in Wilkinson County

By Roscoe Barnes III

Copyright (c) 2018

#HistoricWoodville

#MississippiHistory

Newsletter published by the Woodville Civic Club Inc.

If you’d like to know some little-known facts and fascinating history about Mississippi, then it behooves you to follow the work of The Woodville Civic Club Inc. (WCC) in Woodville. You can do this by visiting Woodville and by reading the Civic Club’s newsletter. Civic Club news is also shared in The Woodville Republican.

Civic Club board members have given me permission to share their newsletter on this blog. The two-page publication is edited by WCC Executive Director Ernesto Caldeira. First published in the 1970s, it presents news, research and history projects about Wilkinson County, which is located in southwest Mississippi, just above the Louisiana state line. 

The newsletter includes updates and images related to the Wilkinson County Museum and the African-American Museum, both of which are located on the town square behind the courthouse in Woodville. Images of both museums appear at the top of the newsletter. The newsletter also features news about the on-going projects of volunteers who are working to help preserve local history.

The current issue, published in December 2017, features a report about the African-American Museum getting a “needed new start” with help from Mildred McGehee, former Superintendent of Education in Wilkinson County. She will be working as a volunteer with the Civic Club to develop more exhibits to complement the current ones that highlight the contributions of Anne Moody, William Grant Still, Scott Dunbar, and Lester Young. Headlines in the December issue include:

“Restoration plans in the works for The Old Woodville Cemetery”

“Two active Civic Club volunteers put up over 90 informative signs in our 242 site Historic District”

“Withers portraits donated to Museum”

“Donors Kick-Off Campaign”

“www.historicwoodville.com is getting needed help!”

Books and other literature on local history are available for purchase at the Wilkinson County Museum or through the website: www.historicwoodville.com. Tours of the two museums can be arranged by contacting the Civic Club via email at: info@historicwoodville.com.

Discover More about Wilkinson County!

For more information on the Woodville Civic Club Inc. and history related to Wilkinson County in southwest Mississippi, visit http://www.historicwoodville.org

You may also write to the organization at: Woodville Civic Club In., P.O. Box 1055, Woodville, MS 39669.

For a recent story on the Anne Moody display in the African American Museum, visit here.