Black History Civil Rights Exhibit

A new exhibit at the Biloxi Public Library is shining a light on Biloxi’s civil rights history.
The project, created by the children’s librarian Kelly Derouenn, highlights ten influential African-Americans and their impact on the Biloxi community from past leaders such as Joseph Howze, the first bishop of the Biloxi Diocese, to current leaders like Biloxi City Councilman Felix Gines.
The exhibit hopes to educate both children and adults on what these people meant to the city. It even sheds light on how some city streets got their name. History and Genealogy Librarian Jane Shambra said, “Councilman Esters was a councilman and we have a really good image of him in the local history department. He got killed in an accident so to commemorate all the things that he did good for the community, they actually named the street after him. We need to learn about how streets are named and why they’re important and just expand our knowledge of that as well.”
The exhibit will be up through at least the first week of March. The library is open Monday through Thursday from 9 to 6 and Friday and Saturday from 10 to 4.