Miss. Capital Eyed As Museum Home

[rollopollo]

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Before the Freedom Riders came to Jackson, nine black students from Tougaloo College entered the city's segregated main library branch and began reading.

After refusing orders by the police chief to leave, the so-called Tougaloo Nine were arrested, charged and convicted of breaching the peace.

Their actions in March 1961 were among the first high-profile efforts to break down a stubborn, long-standing system of segregation in Mississippi.

After that, the movement for racial equality gained momentum in other Mississippi communities and the Freedom Riders' arrival in Jackson put the nation's spotlight on the city.

Because of Jackson's prominence, several leading officials here think it's appropriate that a Mississippi civil rights museum be built in the capital city....

http://blackvoices.aol.com/black_news/canvas_directory_headlines_features/_a/miss-capital-eyed-as-museum-home/n20061220035709990003?cid=505

[northofdenali]

1. Jackson is an excellent choice for a civil rights museum.

I lived in Birmingham for a number of years, and was there when their Museum was built. It's awesome, literally (not in the "kewl" sense). I don't recall who the designers were, but it is a museum not to be missed. I hope Jackson's designers take a little light from Birmingham, and do as much justice to the civil rights struggle in Mississippi!