Hosted By: Two Mississippi Museums The Museum of Mississippi History and Mississippi Civil Rights Museum will mark the annual National Day of Racial Healing through a celebration of civil rights and spiritual leader Dr. John Perkins. The event is in partnership with the Perkins family and the Alluvial Collective. Panelists will be religious and community leaders influenced by Perkins. The event will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The event, sponsored by FedEx, is free and open to the public.

The first panel, Faith + Action: The Legacy of Dr. John Perkins, will feature a conversation about Perkins's lived theology and his influence on Christian community development and racial reconciliation. The panel will be moderated by Von Gordon, executive director of the Alluvial Collective. The second panel: The Importance of Local Philanthropists and Change Agents, will feature philanthropic leaders and individuals striving to improve the Jackson metropolitan area and Mississippi.

Dr. John M. Perkins is a civil rights leader, theologian, and advocate for racial reconciliation and faith-based community development. Born in 1930 in Mississippi, Perkins experienced the harsh realities of poverty and racism in the state, including being brutally beaten while in a Rankin County jail for his civil rights activities. Shaped by his faith and these formative experiences, he committed his life to ministry and civil rights. Perkins founded various faith-based organizations—including Mendenhall Ministries, Voice of Calvary Ministries, and the John and Vera Mae Perkins Foundation—all with the goal of empowering under-resourced communities through education and economic development. Through this work, he has become pioneer among Christian Community Development practitioners.