James Meredith announces future plans to open the James Meredith Museum and Bible Society , located at 217 W. Griffith Street in Jackson, on Nov. 25, 2020.

Author and civil rights activist James Meredith announced plans Wednesday to open a museum that will chronicle his life’s accomplishments, house an archival library and provide a sanctuary for those wanting to study the Bible.

The project, announced at a press conference, fulfills a continuing dream of Meredith’s to “help uplift the moral character of families and to build leadership skills in kids,” Meredith said. He said the museum is slated to open in late 2021. The museum will be located at 217 W. Griffith Street in Jackson.

James Meredith at the site of his future museum and Bible Society Mission, located at 217 W. Griffith Street in Jackson.

Meredith said the museum is a multi-million dollar project, and the nonprofit the museum will operate under, the James H. Meredith Interpretive Center and Bible Society, is currently accepting donations.

Meredith became a household name when he integrated the University of Mississippi in 1962. He went on to attend law school at Columbia University in 1968 and remained active in the civil rights movement, including organizing the March Against Fear in 1966 when he was shot attempting to walk from Memphis to Jackson to encourage voter registration. He is also the author of several books.

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Vickie King has experience as a professional photographer spanning 35 years- from childhood purchasing her first camera by selling flower seeds to neighbors, as a stringer for Associated Press in Des Moines, Iowa, a freelancer shooting an album cover to your loved one’s wedding, and your kids and pets at a J.C. Penney portrait studio. She joins the Mississippi Today team as a photojournalist.

A native Mississippian and resident of Jackson, Vickie was born in Laurel.
You know her work from years as a staff photographer for the Clarion-Ledger. Her award-winning photography has appeared in such publications as the New York Times, Editor & Publisher Magazine, People Magazine, in national news broadcasts, and books depicting the devastation of Hurricane Katrina to the glory of Ole Miss football.

Most recently, she is the former photographer, Special Projects Officer IV, Staff Officer I, videographer, and online content producer for the Mississippi Department of Corrections. She is also a Pulitzer Prize nominee for Spot News.

Vickie is a graduate of Simpson College, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Media Relations.