Sites of Resistance and Sites of Healing: Sumner, MS; Mound Bayou, MS; and Montgomery, AL

Join us as we visit historical sites of racial injustice to reflect on its legacy and imagine new possibilities for the future. Leaving Oxford, MS, we will travel to Sumner, MS stopping at the Emmett Till Interpretive Center. Here we will learn about the death of Emmett Till and the subsequent murder trial that brought to light the brutality of Jim Crow segregation in the South and was an early impetus of the civil rights movement. Next, we will stop in Mount Bayou, MS at the Mound Bayou Museum to hear about how this town provided protection for witnesses of the Emmett Till murder, a home base for activists and journalists covering the trial, and a refuge for Till’s mother, Mamie Till-Bradley. We will then travel to Montgomery, AL, to visit the Equal Justice Initiative’s Legacy Museum and National Memorial for Peace and Justice. Here we will investigate America's history of racial injustice and its legacy and learn about current work to challenge racial and economic injustice.

There will be a pre-departure discussion with members of the Lafayette County Remembrance Project and the Alluvial Collective on Thursday, March 23, from 6 pm-7:30 pm, and a debrief session on Thursday, March 28, 2023, from 6 pm-7:30 pm. Attendance at both pre-departure and debrief sessions are required for all participants. The trip is open to all UM students, faculty, staff, and LOU community residents. A $100 non-refundable registration fee is required. Complete this form to express your interest in participating. Information on how to submit the non-refundable deposit will be sent to those who are accepted to participate.