Nestled deep inside Ayer Hall - the oldest building on Jackson State University's campus - are historical treasures that give insight into African-American life in Mississippi.
Yellowed photos that show black business owners and their stores at the turn of the century.
Hand-written journals that detail the life of poet and writer Margaret Walker Alexander.
A rare recorded interview that features Piney Woods School founder Laurence Jones, who died in 1975.
The collection of artifacts, recordings and manuscripts are part of the Margaret Walker Alexander National Research Center, but it's likely that their existence is not widely known.
The center's new director, Richland native Robby Luckett, wants to change that. "Too few people know we're here and what we are doing," he said. "I want to get as many people here as possible."
Luckett became director last month. The post had been vacant for a year.
Enthusiasm pours out of him as he talks about a collection from retired Murrah High School art teacher Paul Campbell, old photos of the Alcorn State University campus, an album of Alexander reading her poetry and reels of decades-old audio tape featuring prominent black Mississippians.
"We have these great things, but it doesn't do us any good to hoard them," Luckett said.
Mary Coleman, associate dean in the College of Liberal Arts, said she thinks Luckett's hire is a "perfect transition" for the center.
"Every leadership transition provides a chance to re-evaluate the position and see what can be done," she said. "The passion that he brings to the center as the new director and to his scholarly teaching will prove contagious."
With his slightly tousled, light brown hair and black-frame glasses, the 32-year-old Yale University graduate knows he doesn't look the part of a civil rights buff at a historically black university. But he feels right at home.
"I can't imagine doing anything else," he said. "This is a forever job for me."
He recently obtained his doctorate from the University of Georgia, where he focused his studies on the civil rights movement in Mississippi.
"I always knew I wanted to come back to Mississippi," said Luckett, whose parents raised him while taking in 13 foster children of different races. "Through it all, I've had a connection to this place - Mississippi has always been a part of me."
In addition to leading the center, he'll teach African-American history at JSU - a position he says he'll use to lure more students into the research center. "My students will definitely be coming here," he said with a laugh.
Beyond his own students, Luckett said he wants to get the word out to researchers from across the country.
"We are a national research center, and we should be seen that way," he said. "Anyone who has an interest in the history and culture of African Americans should consider us a resource." Coleman agrees.
"If you think about the combination of the direction JSU is heading and the treasure trove (housed in the Margaret Walker Alexander Center), the potential is clearly evident," she said.
In addition to support from Jackson State, the center also has obtained grants from non-profit organizations like the Ford Foundation and the National Endowment for the Humanities.
