February 24, 2025
Thanks to Pearl River Community College Honors Institute students, the city of Hattiesburg’s newest public-art mural was officially opened last week in the Palmer’s Crossing Community.
Hattiesburg Alliance for Public Art (HAPA) in conjunction with PRCC, the City of Hattiesburg and the Forrest County Board of Supervisors unveiled “Freedom Summer: Honoring History and Hope in Palmer’s Crossing” with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday (Feb. 20).
The project originally began through a student-led initiative at PRCC, where members of national honor society Phi Theta Kappa (PTK) selected this public art installation as their 2023 Honors in Action project. This PTK initiative provides funding and research opportunities for undergraduate students, allowing them to contribute action-oriented service to address real-world challenges in communities across the country.
After studying the intersection of art, science, and play, the PRCC class chose to place a mural commemorating Freedom Summer 1964, near Earl Travillion Attendance Center in Palmer’s Crossing. Their work ensures this vital piece of history remains a conversational topic to local students, visitors, and community members through the art piece.
“As our Phi Theta Kappa Honors students worked with the city government and local artists to advocate for this public mural in this specific historic neighborhood rich with stories about the “Freedom Summer” Civil Rights movement, we learned that art has the power to inspire us to memory, celebration, and renewed hope,” said Dr. Terri Ruckel, PRCC instructor and Phi Theta Kappa Advisor for Beta Tau Gamma at the FCC.
“Palmer’s Crossing played a huge role in Freedom Summer,” said director of HAPA, Kristen Brock. “We are proud to continue to tell the story of how Hattiesburg played a pivotal role in making changes for our state, our city and for our country.”
The mural’s artists are Chris and Taryn Holzinger. As a local educator, Chris Holzinger wanted the mural to tell a story as well as to teach the history lesson of the Freedom Summer of 1964. Depicted are Robert Moses and the Freedom Fighters, the late Vernon Dahmer, depictions of protests at the Capitol and Bettie Dahmer, the daughter of Vernon, teaching students about the events of that fateful summer.
Following 18 months of research and implementation, the city’s 60th mural was officially unveiled during Black History Month, aligning with the recent 60th anniversary of Freedom Summer. Hattiesburg played a significant role in this monumental project of the Civil Rights Movement.
“When PRCC and the Ruckels approached me some time ago with the idea of this mural, we looked at several building options that were not suitable. With that, I decided to build a wall. It is a reality today thanks to the efforts and desire to see public art in Palmers Crossing since there was not any in this area before today,” said Forrest County Supervisor Rod Woullard.
The Holzingers were selected by the PRCC class to complete the design with the guidance of community members and Supervisor Woullard, who secured funding for the construction of the wall. Positioned in a high-traffic area, their vibrant artwork integrates important local leaders and imagery honoring the brave individuals who served during the period.
Since 2020, HAPA has worked to significantly grow Hattiesburg’s public art throughout the city, both in murals and utility boxes. The total number of public art pieces in the community now exceeds 100.
According to Dr. Ryan Ruckel, PRCC students gained valuable experience in the workings of municipal and county governments, as well as school boards.
“We learned that our community has significant history in stories and the arts have the power to unlock those stories so we can celebrate and we can remember,” said Dr. Ryan Ruckel. “We learn we should always be advocates for our artistically-sold communities.”
Dr. Ruckel said last spring in Orlando at a national PTK convention, PRCC’s advocacy of this mural and the ideas and research behind it, placed in the top 20 projects among thousands of entries submitted.
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Article and Photography by Chuck Abadie.
