Making Their Mark: Honoring Mississippi’s First Black Legislators on the Landscape and in Public Memory

The “Making Their Mark” project, funded by a grant from Monument Lab’s Re:Generation initiative in 2026, will facilitate the installation of historical markers in counties across Mississippi to recognize the state’s first Black legislators. Each marker’s unveiling will be accompanied by community programming featuring creative performances by local students.

The team:
DeeDee Baldwin (Mississippi State University)
Chuck Yarborough (Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science)
Brother Rogers (Mississippi Department of Archives and History)
Roscoe Barnes (Visit Natchez)
Vickie Roberts Ratliff (Land, Literacy, Legacy LLC)
Robby Luckett (Jackson State University)
Heather Denne (Jackson State University)