Dedicated on Saturday, May 11, 2002, the Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Garden allowed vistors of all ages to delve into Hamer’s dynamic past while paying their respects to the late activist who is buried on the grounds. The ceremony was open to the public.

Opened on December 9, 2017, the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum is a dark reminder of the state’s complicated racial and political history. Mississippi is a key chapter in the nation's ongoing struggle for equality, but the state has been slow to acknowledge the racism and violence in its past. The new museum now tells that difficult story.

Through the museum, future generations will learn of the struggles their ancestors faced to receive equal rights, and the work and challenges that still remain will that will inspire future generations to take up the torch and continue working for positive changes. By informing and engaging the community and visitors on the conversation and struggles of equal rights for all, visitors will be inspired by the bravery and tireless work of so many that fought for this cause and for the chance for African American citizens to be heard and given the same rights as all citizens.

The Mississippi Civil Rights Museum shares the stories of a Mississippi movement that changed the nation. The museum promotes a greater understanding of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement and its impact by highlighting the strength and sacrifices of its peoples.

As the second-oldest state department of archives and history in the United States, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History displays the history that it has stored for many generations, including Mississippi Civil Rights collections and resources that the archival staff has preserved to ensure that the voices and struggles of so many brave people will forever be heard.

The Museum opened to the public on September 24, 2016, as the 19th and newest museum of the Smithsonian Institution. The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive cultural destination devoted exclusively to exploring, documenting and showcasing the African American story and its impact on American and world history. Established by an Act of Congress in 2003, the nearly 400,000-square-foot museum is prominently located next to the Washington Monument and is the culmination of decades of efforts to establish a national museum that promotes and highlights the contributions of African Americans. To date, the Museum has collected close to 37,000 objects and nearly 170,000 individuals have become charter members.

As part of the Smithsonian family, the Museum highlights Fannie Lou Hamer’s contributions to society with exhibitions and various events, including Freedom Summer in 1964.

Then president Barack Obama spoke at the inauguration of the National African American Museum acknowledging the efforts of many. “This is the place to understand how protest and love of country don’t merely coexist but inform each other…We have shown the world that we can float like butterflies and sting like bees; that we can…steal home like Jackie, rock like Jimi…or we can be sick and tired of being sick and tired, like Fannie Lou Hamer, and still Rock Steady like Aretha Franklin.”  (Watch below)

Opened on September 13, 2008 and located in the heart of the Mississippi Delta, the B.B. King and Delta Interpretive Center, tells the story of the international blues icon’s life through exhibits and music.

Born Riley B. King on September 16, 1925 on a cotton plantation in Berclair, MS, King went to live with his maternal grandmother, Elnora Farr, in Kilmichael when he was four-years-old. She died when he was 14.

He went to live with his father, Albert, in Lexington later that year, but two years later rode his bicycle the 50 plus miles to return to his beloved Kilmichael.

He then lived in a shed belonging to white tenant farmer Flake Cartledge. And it was there that King made his first guitar out of materials he found around the farm where he worked for his “keep”, and played with one of the Cartledge sons, Wayne.

King attended the Elkhorn School and sang in the choir at the Elkhorn Primitive Baptist Church. His teacher, Luther Henson, had a profound affect on the young King and his later life.

King left Kilmichael for Indianola in 1943 just before he turned 18. And later went on to Memphis.

His mother, Nora Ella King, and grandmother are buried at the Pinkney Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Kilmichael.

Fannie Lou Hamer’s husband Pap and his family are also from Kilmichael. Fannie Lou was born near that same area on October 6, 1917.

Established in 1991, the National Civil Rights Museum is located at the former Lorraine Motel, where civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. Through interactive exhibits, historic collections, dynamic speakers and special events, the museum offers visitors a chance to walk through history and learn more about a tumultuous and inspiring period of change. The museum offers 260 artifacts, more than 40 new films, oral histories, interactive media and external listening posts that guide visitors through five centuries of history — from the beginning of the resistance during slavery, through the Civil War and Reconstruction, the rise of Jim Crow, and the seminal events of the late 20th century that inspired people around the world to stand up for equality.

The museum features the exhibit, “Is This America?” Fannie Lou Hamer first raised that question at the Democratic National Convention on August 22, 1964 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, as she gave her emotional testimony before the Credentials Committee. Hamer spoke of the vicious beating she and several others received at the hands of local law enforcement agents at a jail in Winona, MS and other brutalities all because they wanted to become first-class citizens, in America.

The exhibit features a short documentary-style film that interprets the many facets of the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer Project (which Hamer helped to organize), including the recruitment of northern white college student volunteers, the murders of James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman, voter registration forms and handouts, the passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party's efforts to integrate the state delegation at the Democratic National Convention.