JSU’s Office of Community Engagement won Statewide recognition for its efforts to preserve the cemetery’s sacred history.
By Kelli Sharpe and Anthony Howard
JACKSON, MS — Jackson State University’s (JSU) commitment to historical preservation and community engagement has earned statewide recognition. The university’s Mt. Olive Cemetery community engagement project was officially honored with an Award of Merit for Rehabilitation at the recent Mississippi Heritage Awards ceremony.
“Receiving the Award of Merit for Rehabilitation for our work at Mt. Olive Cemetery is an honor that highlights Jackson State University’s sacred responsibility as a caretaker of history,” said JSU President Denise Jones Gregory.
“JSU is committed to bridging academic excellence with active community stewardship. By preserving the resting places of the visionary leaders who paved the way for our community, we ensure that their legacies continue to inspire, educate, and guide our students and future generations.”
The awards ceremony took place on June 4, at the Ole Towne Church in Brookhaven, Mississippi, bringing together preservationists, historians, and community leaders from across the state. Sponsored by the Mississippi Humanities Council and America 250, the annual awards celebrate exceptional dedication to preserving Mississippi’s rich and diverse cultural history.
The award-winning conservation project focused on a critical stabilization and restoration effort, successfully repairing 46 historic brick mausoleums and over 260 markers. The meticulous preservation work included professional cleaning, repointing, masonry repair and vital structural stabilization to protect the site from further environmental degradation. The cemetery holds the remains of an estimated 1,400 known individuals, including ordinary citizens and prominent civic pioneers.
“Several groups have visited the cemetery and commented on how beautiful it looks and feels. That makes me smile because it has not always been that way,” said Heather Denne’, Ph.D., director of JSU’s Office of Community Engagement. “ To be able to honor the formerly enslaved persons and their ancestors in this way, by preserving their burial grounds, makes me extremely proud.”
This site is an irreplaceable cultural landscape intimately tied to the stories of Reconstruction, the Jim Crow era and the Civil Rights Movement. Preserving it ensures future generations can connect directly with this vital history.
Mt. Olive Cemetery stands as one of Mississippi’s most significant African American cemeteries. It serves as the final resting place for numerous prominent community leaders, educators, and citizens deeply connected to both the city of Jackson and the legacy of Jackson State University. This includes James “Jim” Hill, who died in 1903. Hill was a former slave and became one of the few African Americans elected to statewide office in Mississippi during Reconstruction. Hill served as the state’s Secretary of State from 1874 to 1878 and was an influential political organizer, and Jackson Public School’s Jim Hill High School was named in his honor.
Ida Revels Redmond, daughter of Hiram Revels, the first African American to serve in the U.S. Congress, is also buried at Mt. Olive Cemetery. Redmond was a pioneering community activist and advocate. She organized women’s self-improvement efforts through civic, educational, and social services, including voter registration drives.
Both Hill and Redmond’s graves feature prominent, historic portrait statues that are among the first statues ever built for African Americans in the state of Mississippi.
The extensive rehabilitation project was made possible through a Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Grant funded by the National Park Service. Through these federal resources, JSU has been able to spearhead a sustainable community engagement initiative that bridges academic preservation research with active, hands-on community stewardship.
For more information about Jackson State University’s community engagement initiatives or the Mt. Olive Cemetery project, please contact Heather Denne’, Ph.D., at 601-979-2255 or email heather.a.denne@jsums.edu