McComb’s Black History Gallery documents civil rights struggle in Southwest Mississippi
JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – The civil rights struggle in small towns across the state isn’t forgotten but kept for the generations.
McComb’s Black history and the woman who preserved it were remembered Wednesday at the Two Mississippi Museums.
“We are all better because of her hard work and dedication,” said civil rights activist Jacqueline Byrd Martin.
She was Hilda Casin, a McComb educator, who established the Black History Gallery in McComb.
In 2001, Casin purchased a vacant house across from her home and started a collection of Black artifacts and publications -documenting life in Southwest Mississippi.
“It gives a lot of local context to places like Amite County, Lincoln County, Franklin County,” said Black History Gallery Director Kevin Brown. “These counties aren’t really highlighted in bigger institutions. So, the Black History Gallery pretty much gives those stories a platform.”
Wednesday, Casin’s life and works were discussed during History Is Lunch at the Two Mississippi Museums.
Actions of everyday people, activists, and students in McComb are included in the gallery.
Jacqueline Byrd Martin is among them.
She was a student at Burglund High School who participated in the 1961 walkout. They protested the expulsion of Brenda Travis, a 15 year old who was arrested for attempting to purchase a white bus ticket.
“It was the first summer project of the Civil Rights Movement in McComb,” said Martin. “That summer project when that happened, leading up to that walkout.”
Small town voter registration battles and boycotts gave the movement often overlooked momentum.
“It became the bombing capital of the world because we had about 24 bombings to happen in McComb,” added Martin. “So, all of that history is something that sometimes that place that people don’t live in this state know more about than people who actually live here.”
Hilda Casin continued to work at the gallery until shortly before her death in June 2025 at the age of 95.
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