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And the winners are: Mississippi artists picked for Hall of Fame

Geoff Pender
The Clarion-Ledger
The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (The MAX) unveils its inaugural Hall of Fame class of 18 Mississippians Thursday at the Capitol.

The Mississippi Arts and Entertainment Experience on Thursday released its inaugural Hall of Fame class of 18 Mississippi writers, musicians, visual artists and actors.

Alyssa Rose, administrative assistant with The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (The MAX), unveils the inaugural Hall of Fame class of 18 Mississippians at the Capitol Thursday.

The inductees will be highlighted in a Hall of Fame at the MAX museum in Meridian that is under construction in Meridian and set to open in the spring. To be eligible for the Hall of Fame, candidates must have made important contributions in the field of arts and entertainment and have a connection to the state of Mississippi, by birth, locating to the state at an early age or by living in Mississippi for a significant part of their careers.

The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (The MAX) unveils its inaugural Hall of Fame class of 18 Mississippians Thursday at the Capitol.

The inaugural Hall of Fame members are:

Walter Anderson

William Faulkner

Morgan Freeman

John Grisham

Jim Henson

Robert Johnson

James Earl Jones

B.B. King

George Ohr

Elvis Presley

Leontyne Price

Jimmie Rogers

Sela Ward

Muddy Waters

Tennessee Williams

Oprah Winfrey

Eudora Welty

Richard Wright

Contact Geoff Pender at 601-961-7266 or gpender@gannett.com . Follow him on Twitter .

Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves speaks during a news conference for The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (The MAX) Thursday at the Capitol as they unveil its inaugural Hall of Fame class of 18 Mississippians.