Robert Billups, Ph.D. Candidate, Emory University

"Meridian's Civil Rights History within the Context of Local Architectural History"

 

Meridian, Mississippi, was an important hub of the US civil rights movement, especially during the 1960s. The city's civil rights history remains preserved in local buildings, many of which are still in use. Robert Billups will discuss some of Meridian's civil rights sites, their historical significance and contexts, and sources that can be used to learn more about them. The presentation will be particularly attentive to Meridian's religious institutions, their congregations' experiences of the civil rights era, and how those experiences left imprints on the architecture of some churches in the Meridian area. 

 

Robert Billups is a history PhD candidate at Emory University and an incoming 2023–2024 National Fellow with the Jefferson Scholars Foundation in Charlottesville, Virginia. He grew up in and around Meridian and currently researches resistance to the US civil rights movement during the mid-twentieth century. Before beginning his PhD at Emory, Robert earned a Bachelor's degree in History from the University of Notre Dame and a Master's degree in American History from the University of Cambridge. He has written for the Washington Post, the Journal of American History, and the Journal of Southern History.