Morris named new director for Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Michael Morris is the new director of the Museum of Mississippi History and the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, the state Department of Archives and History announced Monday.

He succeeds Pamela D.C. Junior, who retired on June 30. The museums are separate entities under the same roof in downtown Jackson — and share a lobby, a gift shop, a community room, and spaces for special exhibitions. They have had more than 500,000 visitors since opening in December 2017.

“I am thrilled to know Michael will continue the work we have begun,” Junior said in a news release. “He is well-known and respected in both the public history community and the civil rights community.”

Morris said Junior did an exceptional job.

“These museums are a tremendous asset for the state and the city of Jackson,” Morris said. “I am excited to take on this new responsibility and look forward to building on the success there.”

Morris, a Jackson native, earned his bachelor’s degree in history and a master’s degree in political science from Jackson State University, where he worked at the Margaret Walker Center and Fannie Lou Hamer Institute on Citizenship and Democracy.

He earned a supervisory management certificate from the Mississippi State Personnel Board and is completing the board’s program for certified public managers.

Morris began working in the department’s public relations office in 2016, and most recently served as director of public engagement. He was responsible for co-leading the department’s strategic planning process, coordinating community meetings, leading department research projects, planning major events, and supporting the department director and deputy director during legislative sessions.

Morris was a member of the commission that commemorated the city of Jackson’s bicentennial in 2022, He has written markers for the Mississippi Freedom Trail and has moderated panels for the Mississippi Book Festival. He was the Mississippi archivist for the “Our Story, Our Terms” civil rights project at Duke University.

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