![\"\"](\"http:\/\/sites.jsums.edu\/jsuflash\/files\/2020\/02\/COFO-new-1-copy.jpg\")
<\/a>It was founded and established by local and state civil rights leaders in May 1961.\u00a0\u00a0The founders made the mission of the organization to \u201chonor the past, deal with issues of the present, and hope for the future,\u201d the center held truthfully to that phrase.<\/p>\n
According the COFO Civil Rights Education Center website, the COFO building was considered the \u201cnerve center\u201d for the Mississippi Freedom struggle. The organization made voter registration and education a top priority for the Mississippi movement.<\/p>\n
They organized several events contributing to their priorities such as Freedom Vote, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, and the 1964 Mississippi Summer Project. The infamous building of the organization continues to stand as a mighty testament of the state\u2019s civil rights history.<\/p>\n
COFO was established as an umbrella, according to Jackson State University\u2019s website, to meet the needs of an increasing presence of Civil Rights Organizations stationed in Miss.<\/p>\n
These organizations were; Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).<\/p>\n
The COFO Civil Rights Education Center made its grand opening at Jackson State University in 2011. The center\u2019s mission is to \u201chonor the past, deal with the issues of the present, and offer hope for the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
The center holds firmly to its mission, as it hosts visitors from around the world! The COFO experience includes visitors learning interactively, letting the visitors receive the opportunity to reach out to history, and inspiring civic responsibility and activism.<\/p>\n
Mariah Jones, a senior history major from Philadelphia, Miss. serves as Miss. NAACP for Jackson State University. She elaborated more on the center and explained some of her goals in the future stating,<\/p>\n
\u201cThe COFO center is a central hub for Jackson State students. The building was originally created for different civil rights organizations such as SNCC, NAACP, SCLC to have their meetings. The COFO center consists of old artifacts from that time period, like different letters that were written, I have seen a typewriter, just things of that nature that really points out the significance of that nature.\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n
She continued, \u201cOn the walls you will notice the exhibit has several different photos of the organizations that have come through that exhibit such as SNCC, CORE and other organizations of that nature. I feel that the interactives help the visitors get a nice look of the history that was created by these amazing organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jones plans on working with the exhibit before the semester is over.<\/p>\n
\u201cCurrently I am trying to get the Gibbs and Green documentary, in honor of black history month, to be played in the building for a little movie night on campus for Jackson State students.\u201d<\/p>\n
The COFO Civil Rights Education Center\u2019s website states that their vision is to challenge and cultivate people, inquiring the young minds and fostering the development of future leaders and community builders. They hope that their visitors, no matter their background, are empowered by the center\u2019s enriching experiences.<\/p>\n
The COFO center is partnered up with other centers such as the Margaret Walker Center, NMAAHC, and the Association of the African American Museums. To visit the center, you can contact the staff of the Margaret Walker Center at (601) 979 3935.<\/p>\n
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