“Somewhere in the universe, a gear in the machinery shifted.”

Eldridge Cleaver, after Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on a Montgomery, AL, bus

What is the Mississippi Truth Project?

The Mississippi Truth Project is a statewide effort to create a truth and reconciliation commission that will bring to light racially motivated crimes committed in Mississippi between 1945 and 1975.

Begun as a grassroots effort in the spring of 2008, the Mississippi Truth Project has brought together individuals and organizations from across the state to tell the truth about the past in order to shape an inclusive and equitable future.

Five regional groups are working to craft the mandate for the commission, as well as engage in local efforts to collect oral histories. The MTP expects to seat a commission by the end of summer 2010. Once established, the commission will explore the institutional structures of racism as well as examine crimes against the body, crimes against property, the collusion of public officials and conspiracies of silence that for the past 60 years have divided Mississippians.

The commission is expected to work from six months to two years and will issue a final report of findings and recommendations.
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