The Ella Sharp Museum in Jackson is celebrating both Black History Month and Women’s History month with a new exhibit titled “Women Made: Stories of Impact."
The exhibit features women who are currently making an impact in the Jackson community as well as influential women from Jackson’s past.
The exhibit will open on February 18 with an opening reception taking place on March 13 in honor of Women’s History Month.
The museum’s Director of Curatorial Affairs Harrison Marcott says the exhibit is semi-permeant and will likely be integrated into the existing Jackson History exhibit after August.
“By honoring those stories, you're honoring those people and developing a kind of empathy with your community. Everyone's got stories, so we're hoping that people will come in and see these and be able to see themselves in these women,” Marcott said.
In honor of Black History Month, women like 19th century temperance advocate Lucy Thurman and current Jackson humanitarian Wanda “Mama TuTu” Beavers are being celebrated in the exhibit along with other inspirational women of color.
Women Made also features former Jackson resident and professional baseball player Vivian Kellogg who served as one of the inspirations for the film “A League of Their Own."
Marcott says women in the community had a large role in helping determine who the exhibit would honor. Students from Jackson College were also involved in creating labels for the largely text-based exhibit.
The Ella Sharp Museum is a financial supporter of WKAR.