Oseola McCarty Museum Opens Today

Oseola McCarty, born in 1908, left school in the sixth grade to care for her ailing aunt and never returned. She began her life's work as a washerwoman, scrubbing clothes by hand on a rub board, a trade she continued until arthritis forced her to retire in 1994. McCarty lived a profoundly frugal life, never owning a car and walking nearly a mile to get groceries. She started saving money as a child, first in a doll buggy, and by the time she retired at age 86, had accumulated $280,000. In 1995, she donated $150,000 of her life savings to the University of Southern Mississippi to fund scholarships for Black students who, like her, might otherwise not have the chance for an education. Her gift inspired hundreds of others to donate, and cable mogul Ted Turner cited her as an inspiration for his own billion-dollar pledge to charity. The initial endowment has since grown to $1 million, and as of early 2025, has provided scholarships for 133 students. The fund will now provide $2,000 scholarships to 20 students annually. The new museum is McCarty's actual home, which was relocated to the Sixth Street Museum District in 2019. Inside, visitors can see her kitchen, hear music she listened to, and view the washboards and irons she used in her trade, offering a tangible connection to her life of hard work and generosity. The museum is part of a broader effort to preserve the history of Hattiesburg's Mobile/Bouie Neighborhood, which was once the city's vibrant hub of Black entrepreneurship, professional life, and civil rights activism. The district also includes the African American Military History Museum and the historic Eureka School. For her quiet act of generosity, McCarty received numerous accolades, including the Presidential Citizens Medal from President Bill Clinton, an honorary doctorate from Harvard University, and she was the first recipient of an honorary doctorate from The University of Southern Mississippi.