University Libraries Receives Created Equal: Americas Civil Rights Struggle Grant

University Libraries at The University of Southern Mississippi will use a Created Equal: America's Civil Rights Struggle grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History to mark the 50^th anniversary of Martin Luther King's march on Washington, D.C.

In collaboration with the Library of Hattiesburg, Petal and Forrest County, University Libraries will offer scholarly presentations and documentaries that feature riveting, never before seen footage illustrating the history of civil rights in America.

From Sept. 3 through Sept. 22, a series of lectures by civil rights scholars, as well as a documentary film series highlighting the history of the civil rights movement in America, will take place at Southern Miss' Cook Library and The Library of Hattiesburg, Petal and Forrest County.

“We're pleased to receive a grant from the NEH to provide programming around these films. Pairing the lectures with the films will provide students, faculty and community members a number of opportunities to learn more about the history of civil rights, which is timely with the 50^th anniversary of the Freedom Summer in 1964,” said Jennifer Brannock, University Libraries' curator of rare books and Mississippiana and project director for the grant.

Created Equal: America's Civil Rights Struggle is an initiative of the NEH that uses the power of documentary films to encourage community discussion of America's civil rights history. NEH has partnered with the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History to develop programmatic and support materials for the recipients of the grant.

A schedule of the program's events is listed below:

Film Showings and Discussions (The Hattiesburg Public Library Meeting Room, 6 p.m.):

Sept. 8 - Slavery by Another Name

Sept. 15 - Freedom Riders

Sept. 22 - The Loving Story

Lectures (Cook Library, Room 123, The University of Southern Mississippi, 6 p.m.):

Sept. 3 - The Battle Over School Integration in Mississippi and the Nation, Charles Bolton, Chair, Department of History at University of North Carolina at Greensboro

Sept. 10 - Slaves in Civil War Mississippi, Max Grivno, Department of History, The University of Southern Mississippi

Sept. 17 - The Mississippi Press and the Civil Rights Movement, Dave Davies, interim director, School of Mass Communication and Journalism, The University of Southern Mississippi

For more information about the grant or film showings and lectures, contact Jennifer Brannock at 601.266.4347 or Jennifer.BrannockFREEMississippi.