The latest addition to the Mississippi Freedom Trail has been unveiled with Hattiesburg sisters and civil rights leaders Dorie and Dr. Joyce Ladner being honored.
A marker highlighting the civil rights icons was displayed to the public on Monday. Located at 507 Mobile Street in Hattiesburg, the marker sits within the city’s Sixth Street Museum District along with several sites dedicated to the history of the Hub City’s Black community, including the African American Military History Museum, the Eureka School, and Smith Drug Company.
“As we commemorate the 60th anniversary of Freedom Summer around the state, we are honored to have the opportunity to share the story of Dorie and Joyce Ladner with our visitors through this newest Freedom Trail marker,” Visit Mississippi Director Rochelle Hicks said. “Hattiesburg is an essential part of Mississippi’s Civil Rights story, and we encourage travelers to discover more about those who fought for equality and justice in this community.”
Fueled in part by the murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till in 1955, the Ladner sisters became activists at a young age as members of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Youth Council and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, working closely with figures such as Medgar Evers and Vernon Dahmer.
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Both sisters were active throughout the Mississippi movement and were, at times, arrested for their protest activities. Dorie played a significant role in organizing the Freedom Summer Project and the duo participated in the Freedom Rides, the Selma to Montgomery Marches, and the March on Washington.
“This marker celebrates the Ladner sisters’ pivotal role in shaping our community’s deep Civil Rights history,” Visit Hattiesburg Executive Director Marlo Dorsey said. “It reflects our commitment to preserving and sharing their legacy as hometown heroes with visitors and locals, as well as the more than a dozen other leaders honored on the HBURG Freedom Summer Trail. We invite all to learn and be inspired by their courage.”
The Ladner sisters’ marker is located at the former site of the Woods Guest House, which was not only the home of the local Council of Federated Organizations office and the headquarters of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, but also served as a hotel for African Americans. The Woods Guest House was destroyed by fire in September 1998, but now a bench and the new Freedom Trail sign mark the spot where the building once stood.
Part of the United States Civil Rights Trail, the Mississippi Freedom Trail consists of over 30 sites that offer visitors the opportunity to learn more about the Civil Rights movement, honor important figures of the era, and explore the Magnolia State.
