Meridian in Lauderdale County, Mississippi — The American South (East South Central)

African American Business District

Meridian Civil Rights Trail

Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 3, 2017

1. African American Business District Marker

Inscription. The African-American Business District provided services that Meridian’s black community could not otherwise receive due to Jim Crow laws that kept the South segregated. It was the location of a hotel, restaurants, barber and beauty shops, a drugstore, a florist, a burial society and numerous other businesses.

Erected 2014 by the Meridian/Lauderdale County Tourism Bureau. (Marker Number 1.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights • Industry & Commerce. In addition, it is included in the Meridian, Mississippi Civil Rights Trail series list.

Location. 32° 21.747′ N, 88° 42.142′ W. Marker is in Meridian, Mississippi, in Lauderdale County. It is at the intersection of 25th Avenue and 5th Street, on the left when traveling north on 25th Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 500 25th Avenue, Meridian MS 39301, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in East Mississippi. It is also in the American South

and specifically in the Deep South.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Meridian Blues & Jazz (here, next to this marker); The Movement (here, next to this marker); African-American Cultural Heritage District (a few steps from this marker); Urban Center Historic District (within shouting distance of this marker); Meridian Rhythm & Blues and Soul Music (about 600 feet away, measured

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in a direct line); Sit-Ins, Pickets & Boycotts (about 600 feet away); Lauderdale County World War I Memorial (about 700 feet away); The Grand Opera House (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Meridian.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 3, 2017

2. African American Business District Marker

View of marker and the former Business District. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 3, 2017

3. View of marker and the former Business District.

View of marker looking west on remodeled 5th Street. image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Mark Hilton, December 3, 2017

4. View of marker looking west on remodeled 5th Street.

Credits. This page was last revised on October 15, 2020. It was originally submitted on December 4, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 766 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 4, 2017, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.