Mississippi Library Association

Southern Miss Libraries Co-host Exhibit

During the month of February, the University of Southern Mississippi Libraries and the Hattiesburg Tourism Commission co-hosted an exhibit, “Hattiesburg Remembers the Freedom Summer of 1964.”The exhibit, which was mounted at the Historic Hattiesburg Train Depot, featured fifty Herbert Randall photographs from the Libraries’ collection.

Mississippi was a focal point in the struggle for civil rights in America, and Hattiesburg had the largest and most successful Freedom Summer project in 1964. The headquarters of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was located on Mobile Street, as was the headquarters for Victoria Jackson Gray’s U.S. Senate campaign. Local residents and visiting volunteers risked violence to establish Freedom Schools and to hold voter registration activities.

The fifty photographs in the exhibit brought to life that pivotal time in American history, as documented by Herbert Randall, Jr., an African and Native American from New York City. In 1964, Randall was awarded the prestigious John Hay Whitney fellowship for creative photography. He chose to spend his fellowship in Hattiesburg that summer.

The Randall photographs are part of the collections at The University of Southern Mississippi Libraries, along with many other materials documenting the civil rights movement. These photographs, diaries, letters, and other documents illustrate a local history with truly national significance.

Submitted by
Sherry Laughlin, associate dean
McCain Library and Archives, University of Southern Mississippi

Entry Filed under: News
Posted on: March 2nd, 2009