Stewart has served as the archivist for the Margaret Walker Center at Jackson State University since 2004. She received a master’s degree in public history from Kent State University and a bachelor’s degree in history from Alcorn State University. Stewart received additional training from the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C., the Modern Archives Institute and also served as a summer intern at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
“I am really looking forward to this opportunity to collaborate with others and help develop the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum,” Stewart said.
During the 2011 legislative session, the Mississippi Legislature appropriated approximately $40 million for the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the Museum of Mississippi History, which will be built simultaneously. The two museums will share some facilities but be distinct in their exhibits and missions. The goal is to open both by 2017, the bicentennial of the state of Mississippi.
“This is a great opportunity for Ms. Stewart, the Margaret Walker Center, and Jackson State to play a key role in the development and future of the Civil Rights Museum,” said Robert Luckett, director of the Margaret Walker Center. “We couldn’t be any happier.”
Community meetings to provide public input into the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum will be facilitated by Hilferty Museum Planning/Exhibit Design and Monadnock Media on Tuesday, Feb. 28, in Hattiesburg, Miss., and on Wednesday, Feb. 29, in McComb, Miss. Additional meetings will be scheduled in communities around the state. For more information, contact the Margaret Walker Center at 601-979-0255 or mwa@jsums.edu.
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Posted by Spencer McClenty
spencer.l.mcclenty@jsums.edu