Jerry Mitchell

The Clarion-Ledger

Toyota officials announced a donation $750,000 Thursday to the Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, both under construction in downtown Jackson.

The two museums are slated to open Dec. 9 as part of Mississippi's bicentennial — a date that also happens to be Gov. Phil Bryant's birthday.

"Today is another day of history in Mississippi," Bryant said at a press conference Thursday. "The museums will depict Mississippi's trials and tribulations, but also our victories and honors."

Reuben Anderson, who chairs the Foundation for the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, grew up in the days of Jim Crow and went on to become the state's first African-American justice on the state Supreme Court.

To see this happen "is making a real vision come true for me," he said Thursday. "I'm counting on each of you to join us on Dec. 9 when we open the two greatest museums in the world."

Sean Suggs, vice president of manufacturing for Toyota Motor Manufacturing Mississippi, noted that the donation was coinciding with the 10-year anniversary of the Blue Springs plant, which has so far produced more than 1 million Corollas.

Much of Toyota's donation will go to a permanent exhibit gallery inside the civil rights museum. The money will also go toward educational resources for the museums, including traveling exhibits that will go to the north Mississippi area for the next three years.

Anderson said the museums will provide distance learning resources for every student across Mississippi — "the biggest classroom in our state."

The state Department of Archives and History broke ground on the museums in 2013. So far, lawmakers have allocated $90 million for construction and exhibits.

Lawmakers also require a dollar-for-dollar match for the exhibits. So far, the Foundation for Mississippi History has raised more than $17 million.

State Sen. John Hohrn, who also serves on the foundation, said they are working to raise another $250,000 for the opening celebration, expected to be attended by people around the world.

Officials are predicting 180,000 annual visitors for the museums. The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis averages more than 250,000 visitors.

Department Director Katie Blount said she couldn’t ask for a better group to “head up these world-class museums. Cindy Gardner has been a guiding hand for the project from the start, and Pamela Junior and Rachel Myers bring a wealth of experience and energy that will help connect the museums to all Mississippians.”

Gardner, who has served at the department since 1999, is site administrator for the project.

Junior, who previously served as manager for the Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center in Jackson, is director of the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. Myers, who previously served as director of the Museum Department of the Goldring/Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life, is director of the Museum of Mississippi History.

Archives officials say the Museum of Mississippi History will explore the entire sweep of the state’s history, from earliest times to the present.

Officials say the civil rights museum will focus on the period 1945 to 1976, telling the story of the struggle for equal rights and fair treatment under the law. It will be the nation’s first state-operated civil rights museum.

Contact Jerry Mitchell at (601) 961-7064 or jmitchell@gannett.com. Follow him on Facebook and Twitter.