Fun Guide

WHAT’S HAPPENING IN JXN,

MS?

A hospitality that is uniquely southern, an embrace of diversity that is distinctly the City With Soul!

With hundreds of restaurants to choose from, including momand-pop eateries to James Beard Award-winning fine dining, nearly two-dozen award-winning museums – including the first museum of Islamic culture in the US, visual and performing arts, literature, and history, Jackson is the place you will want to visit again and again.

THE MANSHIP

CIVIL RIGHTS

Want to experience America’s Civil Rights story? Take a journey to Jackson.

Several southern cities have a Civil Rights museum. But Jackson played a pivotal role in the movement that transformed America, and we want to tell our own story - in our own words - and from our own unique experiences.

At the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, discover and explore the inspiring stories of Medgar Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer, Vernon Dahmer, and many others who bravely led the fight for equality. If luck is on your side, you may find yourself on a guided museum tour led by one of the original Freedom Riders.

Jackson is also home to the Smith Robertson Museum and Cultural Center , the first schoolhouse in

SMITH ROBERTSON MUSEUM

COFO

Jackson for African American children, where famed author Richard Wright once attended.

Jackson State University’s campus was the site of pivotal protests and numerous civil rights organizations during the peak of the Civil Rights Movement. Most recognized is the Council of Federated Organizations (COFO) , established in the early 1960s. COFO was instrumental in organizing the 1963 Freedom Vote, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, and the 1964 Mississippi Summer Project.

Tour the Medgar and Myrlie Evers

Home National Monument , a National Park Service site - once

home to the NAACP’s first field secretary in Mississippi - and the location of his assassination in 1963.

And the City With Soul is where you’ll find the Farish Street Historic District, once known as a hub for Black-owned businesses until the 1970s.

JACKSON STATE UNIVERSITY

MISSISSIPPI CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM

DOWN HOME BLUES

Jackson’s got the blues. But why stop there?

Music fans looking for history will find more than their share. Jackson boasts over a dozen Mississippi Blues Trail Markers, honoring the people and places that made their mark on Mississippi music. Founded in 1968, Malaco Records is the country’s “last soul company,” actively recording local and national musicians. And a stop at the Mississippi Music

With Jackson halfway between Memphis and New Orleans, headline acts regularly stop for a quick midweek gig in the city, the “Birthplace of Southern Soul.” Significant annual events like Jackson Indie Music Week, Cathead Jam and Farish Street Heritage Festival – and great venues in Midtown, Fondren, Downtown and Belhaven – keep the music going.

HAL N MAL’S

DOROTHY MOORE

Experience Museum is a-must inside the Iron Horse Grill.

Catch authentic sounds at Johnny T’s Bistro & Blues and F. Jones Corner in the Farish Street Historic District. And don’t dare to miss Blue Monday at Hal & Mal’s, hosted by the Central Mississippi Blues Society, where you never know who will stop by and sit in with the house band!

BOBBY RUSH

MALACO RECORDS

WHAT’S COOKING IN THE

CITY WITH SOUL

The City With Soul, cooking up Southern classics with a Jackson twist.

Jackson restaurants offer some of the best authentic southern cuisines fused with a modern chef-driven approach. Enjoy Cajun, Greek and Italian, all with a unique southern twist. Whether serving competition barbecue, creative cocktails, Gulf seafood, or Wagyu beef, Jackson restaurants thrive in a supportive environment.

Revered as “Fondren’s original neighborhood soda fountain since

1946,” Brent’s Drugs is a classic diner serving three meals daily. A Jackson classic, Hal & Mal’s is celebrating 40 years - part restaurant, part bar and part entertainment venueoffering Gulf seafood, burgers and other creative takes on a pub menu - and live entertainment most days of the week.

Located in West Jackson near Jackson State

STAMP’S SUPER BURGER

University, Stamp’s Super Burger is a small mom-and-pop grill that turns out thick, juicy burgers that are big enough to feed even the hungriest diner. At The Pig & Pint in Fondren, super smoky colaglazed ribs and peppery beef brisket are offered alongside their loaded Fondren Fries and cheesy bacon melt sandwich with pork belly, brisket and collard greens, a taste of Mississippi on toast.

Opened by Joseph Sambou in 2022, Sambou’s African Kitchen in North Jackson was recognized as a James Beard Semifinalist for “Best New Restaurant” and was

also named to the New York Times’ “25 Restaurant Dishes We Couldn’t Stop Thinking About This Year.” Another James Beard Award nominee, Chef Hunter Evans, is at the helm of Elvie’s, where the menu skews European with seasonal fare made using fresh ingredients and a thoughtful attitude toward sourcing. And tucked away in the Two Mississippi Museums is a cafe by Chef Nick Wallace, frequent Food Network competitor and philanthropist, who brings eclectic flare to southern staples like gumbo, brisket and salads.

SOMETHING TO WRITE ABOUT

Jackson has a long literary tradition.

And the story is still being written.

The City With Soul claims writers –past and present – and wordy events for the lit-minded to experience. Explore the works of poet and professor Margaret Walker at the writing center she founded at Jackson State University. It’s home to one of the world’s largest collections of modern, Black female writers.

Stroll Eudora Welty’s House & Garden, not just as a museum but as the place she lived and wrote every day. See where acclaimed

SMITH ROBERTSON MUSEUM & CULTURAL CENTER

author Richard Wright went to school, now the Smith Robertson Museum & Cultural Center , showcasing a rich collection of

African American art, literature, and culture. Attend readings by notable authors - local and national - at bookstores like the celebrated Lemuria Books , home to an impressive first-editions collection. And meet established and up-andcoming authors at the Mississippi Book Festival, a “literary lawn party” held annually in September on the grounds of the state capitol, where you’re likely to hear from Jacksonborn Angie Thomas or Kiese Laymon.

There’s more, but we can’t fit it all in, word-wise.

MS BOOK FESTIVAL

WELTY HOUSE & GARDEN

A HEART FOR THE ARTS

Come experience the arts in the City With Soul. Or, the soul in the City With Arts.

Jackson is one of only four cities worldwide authorized to host the International Ballet Competition. Ballet Magnificat is a local company founded by a USA IBC silver medalist and Jacksonian, Kathy Thibodeaux, alongside her husband, Keith, in 1986. On the visual arts side, many local artists start in Jackson with support from area galleries and then go on to national acclaim.

Jackson is filled with a fantastic array of art for a city its size. We have a world-class symphony, exceptional theater productions (of the regional and off-Broadway kind), and a thriving scene for dance.

MS SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA

JXN ICONS MURAL

MS MUSEUM OF ART

The Mississippi Museum of Art offers “New Symphony in Time,” their permanent collection on view for free, while an exceptional array of domestic and international exhibitions rotate throughout the year.

Visit Jackson has created the JXN Art Map highlighting murals, ghost signs, and other forms of street art vibrantly coloring the City With Soul. Scan the QR code and set off on your own exploration.

ART GARDEN MURAL

GET OUTSIDE!

A project ten years in the making, the Museum Trail, a two-and-a-halfmile trail through the eastern side of Jackson, connects the Mississippi Farmers Market and downtown museums to three public parks and the Mississippi Children’s and Mississippi Natural Science museums . Created specifically for exercise and non-motorized transportation, the trail connects JXN to its rich history while

positively impacting health and the community’s economic development.

At LeFleur’s Bluff State Park, hike rugged trails along the banks of the Pearl River, view the many species of birds among the Cyprus trees, or visit the new LeFleur’s Bluff Education and Tourism Complex featuring the state’s largest - and ADA-accessible - playground.

MS CHILDREN’S MUSEUM

MUSEUM TRAIL

DISCOVER

ICONIC CIVIL RIGHTS

SITES IN JACKSON, MS

MARGARET WALKER

ALEXANDER

Margaret Walker Center

RICHARD WRIGHT

Smith Robertson Museum & Cultural Center

HEZEKIAH WATKINS

Mississippi Civil Rights Museum

MEDGAR EVERS

Medgar and Myrlie Evers

Home National Monument

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