“Voices and Votes” Smithsonian Exhibit in Vicksburg

The Catfish Row Museum in Vicksburg will host Voices and Votes: Democracy in America, a Smithsonian traveling exhibition, from November 19, 2022 until January 20, 2024. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Voices and Votes is a traveling exhibit offered by the Museum on Main Street division of the Smithsonian Institution. It consists of six free-standing display units incorporating photographs, text, and numerous interactive elements. The exhibit is designed for smaller venues to achieve Museum on Main Street’s goal of bringing the Smithsonian to small town America. The exhibit is free and open to the public to visit.

Voices and Votes: Democracy in America traces the bold American experiment of a government run by and for the people. The exhibit examines the influences that shaped the early days of American democracy and the changes that have occurred in the nearly 250 years since.

Democracy is a form of government that requires civic engagement and participation. It is formed by citizens’ responses to ongoing questions: What are the rights and responsibilities of citizens? What is the role of the government in American life? How do citizens participate in democracy? Beginning with the American Revolution, this exhibition explores these questions and more.

In addition to hosting the exhibit, the museum will also host a series of programs that are free and open to the public.

Voices and Votes events in Vicksburg:

• November 22, 4pm: Chamber of Commerce Voices and Votes Ribbon Cutting Opening Ceremony with elected officials
• November 30: “Ideas on Tap” with Senator Briggs Hopson and Kyle Kirkpatrick, Assistant Secretary of State, Russ Latino, Empower Mississippi
• December 3: Sara Dionne, the Warren County Election Commission chairwoman, and Jan Daige, CircuitClerk, to provide educational opportunities on voting processes, including bringing in new voting machines and walking through the voting experience, including registration and voter roll maintenance.
• December 10: Fashion Politics Exhibit with local/national fashion designer Raymond Banks
• December 20: Donald Field Brown, Harvard Scholar, will provide the history of “The Vicksburg Citizens’ Appeal” during critical civil rights years.
• January 4, 2023: Presentation from Voices and Votes state scholar Dr. Rebecca Tuuri, “Democracy in Mississippi: Race, Violence and Power in the Struggle for the Vote”