African-American Heritage Story

Visit Mississippi and you'll soon discover that what makes the African-American community - is the people. And what makes the people - is character and courage.

Travel across the country and you'll encounter few people with a heritage as rich and strong as Mississippi's African-Americans. Because you'll find more than a distinct culture here - you'll discover a legacy of enduring spirit. It's something you feel in our churches and learn about in our schools. You'll hear it in the songs we sing and stories we tell. And see it in our art. It's the saga of a people beginning in 1719, when the French brought the first African slaves here to help build the Natchez settlement.

Tour the city today and you can see the results of their labor and craftsmanship in hundreds of historic buildings. As was the case throughout the South, most African-Americans in Mississippi before the Civil War were slaves. Primarily living and working on huge cotton plantations, they created their own community within the plantation community. Something you can realize today at places like the Florewood River Plantation State Park in Greenwood, which offers a historic re-creation of daily life on an 1850s Mississippi plantation.

Of course, the lives of the state's African-Americans changed forever with the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, followed by the Reconstruction Era, then the 14th Amendment, which extended citizenship and the right to vote to ex-slaves. Suddenly, Mississippi's African-Americans, who outnumbered the white population, had a voice.

In 1870, Mississippian Hiram Revels became the first African- American to sit in either house of the U.S. Congress. The same year, John R. Lynch - a former slave - served in the Mississippi House of Representatives. Then as Speaker of the House in 1872. And in 1873 as a U.S. Representative.

At the same time, education proved to be a great equalizer for many ex-slaves. And, except for Alcorn State University - the first land-grant college for African-Americans in the U.S. (1830) many of the state's African-American colleges trace their roots to this era. Among them were Rust University, Tougaloo College and present-day Jackson State University.

It was during this period, the late 1800s, that Mississippi's African-Americans began evolving into a more autonomous segment of the state's population - a direct result of their strong institutions and sense of community.

Births and weddings called for joyous family celebrations. Schools and organizations created the sense of belonging, duty and purpose, while the church played perhaps the most vital role. Baptist, Catholic, Methodist, Episcopalian - all across the state, religious services created an uplifting experience.

Of course, before Sunday mornings there were Friday and Saturday nights. Musically, that only meant one thing - the blues and the songs of legends like B.B. King, Howlin' Wolf and Muddy Waters.

Despite their roots, though, many African-American Mississippians chose to leave their homeland. By 1910, the Great Migration was on. Over the next 50 years, 938,000 people emigrated north in search of opportunity and better wages.

Still, many remained, improving what they had.

Like Jackson's Farish Street District, now the venue of a two-day festival every Labor Day weekend. Incorporated into the city limits in the 1870s, the Farish Street District steadily prospered until the early 1900s. Then its growth exploded. African- American craftsmen constructed a thriving community of homes, churches and businesses - more than 700 of which are now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Farish Street quickly became a bustling downtown strip, home to African-American attorneys, physicians, dentists, loan companies, a bank and two hospitals. The Black and Tan Republican Party met at Hill's Hall. And Robert Johnson played the clubs on Saturday nights.

In the 1930s and 40s, Farish Street was the place to be - not just in Mississippi, but the South. It wasn't uncommon to see Duke Ellington, Jackie Robinson or Louis Armstrong on their way to the Crystal Palace Night Club.

In the 50s and 60s, civil rights meetings were held in churches, restaurants and homes. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Stokley Carmichael and Medgar Evers - whose NAACP Field Secretary office was located at 507 North Farish Street - organized the effort in this state. All of which is chronicled in the nation's first permanent civil rights exhibit, housed at the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson.

There you'll remember a time when people stood gallantly for the principles and freedoms they believed in. For which some would pay the ultimate price - including Medgar Wiley Evers, who was slain outside his Jackson, Mississippi home.

Today, African-American Mississippians enjoy a way of life and opportunity like never before. Still, the history of 250 years echoes through the heritage of today's community. And perhaps the best place to remember it is the Smith Robertson Museum, the state's African-American cultural center.

Inside, the story of the African- American Mississippian unfolds in a series of exhibits, re-created scenes, artwork and events.

But it doesn't take a special occasion to make a trip to the cultural center worth your time. Every day at the Smith Robertson Museum, like every day in Mississippi, is a special one - telling a very special story about a very special people.