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

The Meridian Movement

— Mississippi Freedom Trail —

Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 26, 2026

1. The Meridian Movement Marker

Inscription.
Charles Darden was president of the Mississippi branch of the NAACP from 1955 to 1960 and one of the founding fathers of the Meridian Freedom Movement, which had its first headquarters in a building on this site. Under Darden's leadership, the Meridian Movement held many sit-ins in White-only facilities and boycotted such businesses. After the brutal murders by the Ku Klux Klan of young activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Michael Schwerner, the Meridian Movement helped galvanize the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The Meridian Movement Charles Darden and Medgar Evers established an NAACP chapter in Meridian in 1959, starting a new active phase of the civil rights movement in Meridian. Darden recalled Meridian before the movement as "the years of stern agony, intimidation, economic reprisals, threats of violence, personal sacrifice and anxiety.” In 1959, he rallied five students—who had been suspended for wearing badges that read, "Remember the 1954 Supreme Court Decision." He also served as the state president of the NAACP from 1955 to 1960.

By 1963, the Mississippi movement was preparing

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for the Freedom Summer Project. The Meridian Project established its headquarters on the second floor of the Fielder & Brooks Drug Store at 2505½ 5th Street. The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) sent Michael and Rita Schwerner from New York City to Meridian to help organize the community. Upon arriving, they met James Chaney and Sue Brown, two organizers from Meridian involved in grassroots activism. Along with them, Reverend Charles Johnson, Agnes Smith, Polly Heidelberg, and others emerged from the local Black community to work with the Schwerners.

The Meridian movement was a collaborative effort. A.C. Henderson gathered a list of local segregated restaurants to protest. Local civil rights leaders and high school students participated in protests and boycotts of the segregated Kress and Newberry department stores on 5th Street. Polly Heidelberg was considered the "mother" of the local movement as she filled her home with civil rights volunteers. George Smith Jr. and his wife, Agnes, organized the Meridian branch of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

Early in the project, Michael Schwerner, James Chaney, and Andrew

Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 26, 2026

2. The Meridian Movement Marker

Goodman were arrested by the police on bogus charges while investigating the bombing of the Mount Zion Church in the community of Longdale in Neshoba County. They would later be released into the hands of the Ku Klux Klan, with some members from Meridian, who brutally murdered them.

Despite this violence, the Meridian Movement continued after Freedom Summer, working to secure Black political power, economic opportunity, and a high-quality education for all Meridian children. Meridian elected its first Black mayor, and local official, Percy Bland, in 2013. School integration occurred in 1970. Many White families left the city and transferred to Lauderdale County schools. In recent years, there has been growing awareness about the disproportionate impact on Black students of school suspensions and expulsions mirroring the complaints that the Meridian NAACP had after the 1971-72 school year post-school integration.

Erected 2026 by Visit Mississippi, the Mississippi Humanities Council, the City of Meridian.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Civil Rights •

Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 26, 2026

3. The Meridian Movement Marker

Closeup of photos & captions.

Education. In addition, it is included in the Mississippi Freedom Trail series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1955.

Location. 32° 21.741′ N, 88° 42.137′ W. Marker is in Meridian, Mississippi, in Lauderdale County. It is at the intersection of 25th Avenue and 5th Street, on the right when traveling south on 25th Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2505 5th St, 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: African American Business District (a few steps from this marker); Meridian Blues & Jazz (a few steps from this marker); The Movement (a few steps from this marker); African-American Cultural Heritage District

Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 26, 2026

4. The Meridian Movement Marker

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

Also see . . . New Mississippi Freedom Trail Marker Honors Meridian Movement. (Submitted on September 28, 2026, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.)

Photographed by Mark Hilton, September 26, 2026

5. The Meridian Movement Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on September 28, 2026. It was originally submitted on September 28, 2026, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 3 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on September 28, 2026, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.