JACKSON, Miss. ( WJTV ) – An exhibit at the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson highlights the heroes of the Hispanic community in Mississippi.

Nuestro Mississippi , which is the name of the exhibit, means “Our Mississippi.”

“I hear the stories of immigration. It’s really important to create the narrative that immigrants and migrants are apart of this beautiful landscape in Mississippi,” said Lorena Quiroz, founder and executive director of the Immigrant Alliance for Justice and Equity (IAJE).

There are 21 pictures of leaders in the community throughout the state. One of those leaders is Efren Nunez. He’s been Mississippi for more than 30 years and started the first Latino store here in the state.

“And, at that time, I know that people were looking for me to help them to get, like a calling card or other type, need for them all the stores. And that’s how I come with the idea, you know, because I live in Miami before, too. And, kind of see, I remember stores and things like that over there, but not here,” he said.

Nancy Tillman spent her career in the military and as an educator. She’s using her skills to help people all hours of the day and night, many times coming out of her own pocket.

“It comes back from my roots. Well, we have a large family. You don’t know you’re poor because everybody’s poor, you know. And so, you had one room, which is everybody slept there in the kitchen,” she said. “But you help each other as a community. You have to. It takes a whole village, as they say, to, to help each other and to see a child in school that maybe hasn’t bathed because there’s no water at home. Or you can just imagine, or having a child come to school with shoes that are flopping up and down because the bottom is coming off, or no mattress, no bed.”

Both Nunez and Tillman said they’re honored to be part of the exhibit and hope when people visit, they walk away with a new perspective.

“To me, is very important because that though that way you are there representing the community and people,” said Nunez.

“When you hear about Hispanics, all of a sudden it turns into a negative. It’s either, someone who’s here illegal or someone who doesn’t have papers. But when you go here, and you see what these people have done throughout Mississippi, I would hope that people will get a different, mindset and start thinking about, let’s take a look at this, this is positive, this has happened and this is happening,” said Tillman.

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