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... The panels are among thousands of exhibits and artifacts inside the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum and the adjoining Museum of Mississippi History. Called the Two Mississippi Museums, the massive complex in sight of the state Capitol is a central part of the state's America 250 celebration.

"That's just the people that we know about," Kiama Johnson, who was visiting from Monroe, Louisiana, said of the victim panels as she sat beyond the display and fought back tears. "Just imagine the ones that we don't. Imagine the ones that's never going to be written in history books."

Mississippi's warts-and-all approach to reflecting its history as part of the state's official commemoration of the nation's 250th anniversary is a stark contrast with what has taken place at the national level since President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.

Easing the discomfort of a sometimes brutal American history has been a central theme of Trump's administration. He signed an executive order his first day back in office eliminating diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in the federal government. That, along with a March 2025 executive order, " Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History," have led to signs being changed at federal parks, exhibits being altered or in some cases removed, and military bases being renamed. ...