Browse Exhibits (16 total)
A Centennial Celebration of Congressman G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery
Welcome to A Centennial Celebration of Congressman G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery. Mississippi State University Libraries is proud to honor the 100th birthday of the late Congressman Montgomery in this digital exhibit. Please click through the links on the right to explore more content.
From the Homefront to the Frontlines: Mississippi in a World at War
World War I, also known as the Great War, began in Europe in 1914 following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria during a visit to Sarajevo. The United States entered the conflict in 1917 after Germany adopted unrestricted submarine warfare and attempted to build an alliance with Mexico. New military technologies and trench warfare led to extraordinary levels of bloodshed and destruction and the loss of more than 16 million civilian and military lives. According to The Mississippi Encyclopedia, Mississippi contributed 57,740 individuals to the fight; roughly three fourths of this number was drafted.
World War II, which spanned from 1939-1945, is the largest and deadliest armed conflict in history to date. The war took place over six continents and each ocean and claimed an estimated 50 million lives. This number includes military and civilian casualties as well as the 6 million Jewish people slaughtered by the Nazis. The United States entered the war in December of 1941 following the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Once again, Mississippi sent many men and women off to fight at the front.
These letters, drawn from manuscripts collections held by the Special Collections Department of Mississippi State University Libraries, were written by men and women, including many graduates of the University, who served in these great conflicts or who lived in hope that their loved ones would return to them after the war. The soldiers’ thoughts on getting accustomed to the pace and structure of military life and missing their homes, families, farms, and favorite foods, like Mama's chocolate cake, are recurrent themes in their letters; their voices, as well as the voices of their loved ones, are represented in this exhibit.
Against All Odds: The First Black Legislators in Mississippi
They were farmers, teachers, ministers, and blacksmiths. Some were born free in the North, while others were born enslaved in Mississippi. Some were highly educated, and others had been forbidden by law to be taught to read. Many came to Mississippi to help their Southern brothers and sisters build a more just government, and many were driven out by violence only a few years later. Learn about the first African American men to serve on Mississippi's state legislature during and just after Reconstruction. A few of these men, such as Hiram Revels and Blanche K. Bruce, are relatively well-known. The vast majority, however, faded into obscurity, just as the white supremacist power structure wanted.
This virtual exhibit is a mirror of my original website, Against All Odds. The site is intended to provide information that is not readily available elsewhere. If more prominent figures have extensive biographies elsewhere online, I have linked to those instead of spending research time on them.
This is an ongoing research project; I am continually exploring sources and adding more information about these men.
Content note: some of the sources quoted include offensive racist language.
-DeeDee Baldwin, History Research Librarian
Bully's Bards: Celebrating the Poets of Mississippi State University
This exhibit features the poetry of faculty members and alumni of Mississippi State University. These poems highlight the poets’ personal experiences, ruminations, and feelings and provide important cultural context to the world in which we live. We hope that these poems inspire you and encourage you to celebrate poetry in April and throughout the year.
This exhibit was curated by Carrie P. Mastley, Curator of Material Culture.
Mississippi Fossils: Dunn-Seiler Museum
This exhibit will take visitors on a journey through time to learn more about the geologic history and prehistoric life of North Mississippi demonstrated by specimens from the Dunn-Seiler Museum.
A Celebration of Fannie Lou Hamer
Bulldogs in Action: How Three Young Men of State Cleared the Way to Victory
The Walter L. Wallace, Sr., Collection includes photographs, documents, and artifacts from Walter L. Wallace's time at MSU and his Navy career during World War II. Wallace, a native of Laurel, Mississippi, enrolled at Mississippi State College (now Mississippi State University) and majored in business. He was a member of the Famous Maroon band, the 1492 Club, and Chi Lambda Rho. Before the D-Day bombardment and amphibious assault on Normandy, Wallace along with two other MSU graduates, George Hammer (Waveland) and Kenneth "K.O." Wise (Uniontown) each commanded a US Navy minesweeper ship. These minesweepers were to be the first into Normandy coastal waters and were tasked with the highly dangerous duties of clearing German naval mines from the approaches to Utah and Omaha beaches. Additionally, Wallace's minesweeper YMS-247 was a part of the Special Sweeping Group that protected the battlecruiser, USS Augusta. USS Augusta was the command ship (General Omar Bradley and Admiral Allan Kirk), for all US Army and Navy forces. This digital exhibit features materials from the Walter L. Wallace, Sr., WWII Collection, which has been generously loaned to Mississippi State University Libraries by his sons Walter L. Wallace, Jr., and Dr. Stephen L. Wallace.
Art 2063: Global Contemporary Art
This exhibit houses some of the final projects for Art 2063: Global Contemporary Art.
This is exhibit was produced outside Mississippi State University Libraries. MSU Libraries is not responsible for the content within this exhibit.
Please contact Jenna Altomonte (jaltomonte@caad.msstate.edu) for any questions on the content of this exhibit.
Symbols of Our State: A Walk through Mississippi Culture and Industry
Welcome to the Symbols of Our State: A Walk Through Mississippi Culture and Industry!
Learn more about the history of the State of Mississippi as you delve into official state symbols and important industries that have shaped the state into what it is today.
This exhibit was developed by the Mississippi State University Museums and Galleries Committee for the State of Mississippi's Bicentennial celebration in 2017. The original exhibit was on display in the Old Main Building Gallery and was funded through a small grant by the Mississippi Humanities Council. Objects included in this exhibit are specimens from various collections, galleries, and museums across the Missisippi State campus.
For more information about the Museums and Galleries Committee, please visit our website http://www.museums.msstate.edu