TO MANY, TOUGALOO College was the catalyst for the civil rights movement in Mississippi.

It was a safe haven for many fighting for the cause of social change and was graced by the movement’s most prominent leaders, like Rev. Martin Luther King and Medgar Wiley Evers.

Now the private institution is a strong contender as a possible location for a national civil rights museum. The Northside Sun has learned that the college is ranked fifth among 25 proposed sites in the state now under consideration for the multimillion dollar attraction.

The Governor’s Commission to Establish a National Civil Rights Museum is expected to make a decision in early 2008. Three spots in Jackson and one in Hattiesburg are also included in the top five.

Edwina Harris-Hamby, Tougaloo’s vice-president for institutional advancement, said the decision shouldn’t be difficult for the commission. “Tougaloo is where the civil rights movement was born,” she said. “It is the only place the museum should be. That’s a reality.”

Other Jackson leaders, though, have different opinions. The Jackson City Council recently passed a resolution supporting a downtown location. And Downtown Jackson Partners, a group of local business leaders, also presented a plan to the commission to sway its support for downtown.

The DJP plan included three sites, one on High Street and two on Mill Street, each in the heart of the 1960s-era movement. Ward Six Councilman Marshand Crisler said it’s important to build the museum downtown, although he doesn’t have a preference to any one location.

HE’S CONFIDENT THE commission will echo that sentiment and he’s encouraged that three sites in downtown Jackson are among the top five being considered. “Most people would agree that any museum in reference to the civil rights movement should be built in downtown Jackson,” he said. “Each of the three sites would serve as a benefit to the civil rights legacy.”

The commission appointed independent consultant Pete LaPaglia to evaluate each of the sites throughout the state. LaPaglia, based in Nashville, Tenn., ranked each site based on demographics, proximity to other attractions, accessibility, and the area’s historical significance.

Land availability was also considered. Property at Vernon Dahmer Park in Hattiesburg was donated for the project. The park is named after the late civil rights worker who was murdered in 1966.

DJP President Ben Allen agrees that downtown in the capital city is the appropriate place for the museum, which could cost as much as $80 million to build.

He said the three sites are located near the Farish Street historic district. And each would lend itself to creating a civil rights walking tour. The properties, he said in an earlier interview, are also available for immediate purchase for the project.

The commission is now evaluating LaPaglia’s recommendations and will present a second list to the consultant for further evaluation. LaPaglia said his firm is expected to present its final recommendations to the group in January 2008.

Allen recently wouldn’t speculate on which site the commission would choose, but said DJP would do whatever it takes to get the museum built downtown.

At least one commissioner seems to support a location in downtown Jackson.

Commissioner Leland Speed recently told the council that the museum would be a better draw for tourists if it were built downtown.

He said it would also complement the more than $200 million in construction under way in the city and the area’s culture, rich with African-American churches and civil rights landmarks, like the King Edward Hotel, state fairgrounds, and Smith Robertson Museum.

“We felt there was a tie-in with other areas, all of which needed to be brought into the picture,” he said. “It is very vital that this new museum be built in downtown Jackson.”