Civil Rights Movement

The stories of the Civil Rights Movement in Starkville, Mississippi, and The South have been chronicled through video interviews in a digital oral and public history project at Mississippi State University. Unity Park in Downtown Starkville honors the contributions of local, Mississippi, and national Civil Rights leaders.

‘A Shaky Truce’: Starkville Civil Rights Struggles, 1960-1980

Through oral history interviews and digitized archival documents, this website highlights the civil rights story in Starkville, MS, and the voices of its participants.

This digital oral and public history project was a cooperative effort between faculty and students at Mississippi State University History Department and Libraries. The website narrates the unique history of Starkville, Mississippi’s civil rights struggles with particular emphasis on the local fight for school desegregation. 

Unity Park

Unity Park, located on Douglas L. Conner Drive, was created to honor those people who have contributed to Civil Rights and Unity in Oktibbeha County in previous years and years to come.

It provides a positive place of civic pride where all people, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or sexual orientation, can come together to celebrate peace, harmony and unity in our community.

Plaques in the Park highlight the work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., William Winter, Dr. Douglas L. Conner, Medgar Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer, and the Game of Change.