On this episode of Black Preservation Stories, we visit the Mound Bayou Museum of African American Culture and History in Mound Bayou, Mississippi—known as the “Jewel of the Delta” and the oldest all-Black municipality in the U.S., founded in 1887 by formerly enslaved visionaries Isaiah T. Montgomery and Benjamin T. Green. The museum's mission is to honor traditions of self-governance, mutual aid, and resilience. Co-founders Darryl and Herman Johnson Jr. discuss Dr. T.R.M. Howard’s civil-rights organizing, Emmett Till’s ties to the town, the 1982 caravan that saved the community, landmark institutions like Taborian Hospital and the Delta Health Center, and acquiring authentic props featured in the films Till and Women of the Movement (2022). Join us as we explore the question: How does Mound Bayou's legacy continue to shape a model of Black self-determination?

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