Kosciusko native Oprah Winfrey is one of the first 18 members of a hall of fame at a Meridian museum that will honor arts and entertainment in Mississippi.
The $50 million Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience, projected to open early next year, will include exhibits, performance spaces and a recording studio. Leaders hope the museum will attract 150,000 visitors a year.
Other honorees include artist Elvis Presley, William Faulkner and B.B. King, Walter Anderson, actor Morgan Freeman, author John Grisham, bluesman Robert Johnson, puppeteer Jim Henson, actor James Earl Jones, potter George Ohr, singer Leontyne Price, musician Jimmie Rodgers, actor Sela Ward, bluesman Muddy Waters, author Eudora Welty, author Tennessee Williams, and author Richard Wright. (AP)