How the winter market found a permanent home
What started as a seasonal pop-up now has a year-round address on Market Street.
Read moreRebuilding the community hall, one weekend at a time
Neighbors, hammers, and a lot of coffee — the hall is coming back one Saturday at a time.
Read moreWhat a year of the after-school pilot taught us
Twelve months, three sites, and one clear lesson: consistency beats novelty when it comes to showing up for kids.
Read moreThe data behind our 2026 housing push
We pulled five years of permit, rent, and vacancy data to understand where the housing pressure actually is.
Read moreMeet the volunteers who kept the food pantry open
Through a flooded basement, a broken freezer, and two record winters, the same dozen names kept appearing on the sign-in sheet.
Read more250 Years – The Promise and the Work: Patriotism Means Honesty at America’s Semiquincentennial
National Civil Rights Museum Op-Ed Dr. Russ Wigginton, President Two hundred and fifty years ago, a group of men signed a document…
Read moreRebuilding the community hall, one weekend at a time
Volunteers, salvaged timber, and a punch list that never quite ends — inside the slow, stubborn restoration of a neighborhood landmark.
Read moreHow the winter market found a permanent home
After six seasons of borrowed parking lots, the winter market signed a lease of its own.
Read moreMuseum Launches Bayard Rustin Institute
Read moreThe Ballot Remains the Battlefield: The Demise of the Voting Rights Act
National Civil Rights Museum Op-Ed Dr. Russ Wigginton, President On April 29, the Supreme Court of the United States did what it…
Read moreMuseum Statement on the Passing of Bernard Lafayette, Jr.
MUSEUM STATEMENT ON THE PASSING OF BERNARD LAFAYETTE, JR. Key Civil Rights Strategist, Organizer, and 2012 Freedom Award Honoree left an imprint…
Read moreMuseum Statement on the Passing of Rev. Jesse Jackson, Sr. Champion of Justice, Voice of Conscience, 2018 Freedom Award Honoree
The National Civil Rights Museum mourns the loss of Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., a towering figure in the American civil…
Read moreForty Years of the King Holiday: A Promise Renewed, A Legacy Reimagined
National Civil Rights Museum Op-Ed Dr. Russ Wigginton, President As published in The Tennessean and The Commercial Appeal Forty years ago, after one of…
Read moreLegacy Reimagined: A New Era at the National Civil Rights Museum
National Civil Rights Museum Op-Ed Dr. Russ Wigginton, President When the National Civil Rights Museum’s Legacy Building reopens in late spring 2026,…
Read moreThe Greater Memphis Chamber's Meet the Chairman’s Circle with President Dr. Russell Wigginton
Wouldn’t the world be a whole lot less interesting if Memphis wasn’t in it? That’s how Chairman’s Circle investor Russ Wigginton describes…
Read moreHealing on Sacred Ground: Why Founders Park is More than Just a Park
National Civil Rights Museum Op-Ed Dr. Russ Wigginton, President There’s a quiet power in standing in a place where history happened. And…
Read moreBreaking Barriers, Building Belonging: Reclaiming Our Shared Space
National Civil Rights Museum Op-Ed Dr. Russ Wigginton, President For the past two years, a fence has surrounded the Legacy side of…
Read moreBlack History Museums Face Rising Pressures Amid Federal Oversight
National Civil Rights Museum Op-Ed Dr. Russ Wigginton, President Black history museums across the country are confronting a growing wave of challenges…
Read moreThe National Civil Rights Museum Announces 34th Freedom Award Honorees
The National Civil Rights Museum is proud to announce the distinguished honorees for the 34th Freedom Award, recognizing their exceptional contributions to…
Read moreSixty Years after the Voting Rights Act: The Fight to Protect the Ballot Continues
National Civil Rights Museum Op-Ed Dr. Russ Wigginton, President On August 6, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act…
Read moreCommunity Over Chaos: Protecting Education for a Stronger America
National Civil Rights Museum Op-Ed Dr. Russ Wigginton, President On the heels of a historic anniversary, our country is reminded of how…
Read moreEveryone’s Freedoms Are at Risk When LGBTQIA+ Rights Are Attacked
National Civil Rights Museum Op-Ed Dr. Russ Wigginton, President In recent years, we’ve witnessed an alarming rise in efforts to suppress expressions…
Read moreJuneteenth and the Unfinished Fight for American Freedom
National Civil Rights Museum Op-Ed Dr. Russ Wigginton, President Juneteenth—June 19, 1865—is more than a date on the calendar. It marks the…
Read moreMuseum Statement on the Passing of Fred Smith
Fred Smith, founder of FedEx and a visionary leader, embodied the spirit of innovation, resilience, and community uplift. His work forever changed…
Read moreWith American Education Under Threat, We Have to Remember Where We've Been
By Dr. Russ Wigginton Guest Columnist When education is constrained, societies become more vulnerable to division and authoritarianism. When curiosity and empathy…
Read moreHow Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Changed My Life
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Read moreBell Tolling Commemoration
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Read moreJCI Symposium on Social Equality
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Read moreA Song to Remember
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Read moreA Black and White World
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Read moreA Grandkid of the Movement - Intergenerational Activism
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Read moreMy Story
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Read moreIntegrating St. Augustine Beach
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Read moreWhat is your story?
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Read moreJamara's Story
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Read moreMLK50 - Where Do We Go From Here?
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Read moreWeek 39: Peace - A Ripple of Hope: Remembering Robert F. Kennedy
Peniel Joseph, “RFK’s Legacy Is Still Alive Today,” CNN, June 5, 2018. Eric Holder, “Remarks by Attorney General Eric Holder Announcing His…
Read moreWeek 38: Quality Education - The Importance of Youth Activism
Quality Education:The Importance of Youth Activism Some notable examples of young activists that answered the call are Claudette Colvin, who was arrested at the age of 15…
Read moreWeek 37: Decent Housing - Connecting Neighborhoods
Decent Housing: Connecting Neighborhoods In 1968, a week after the assassination of Dr. King, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed into law…
Read moreWeek 36: Poverty Since MLK
Poverty Since MLK Today, a report called “Healing Our Divided Society” released by the Eisenhower Foundation suggests that infrastructure spending to create jobs…
Read moreWeek 35: Better Jobs - The Strike for Better Working Conditions
Better Jobs: The Strike for Better Working Conditions It was the tragic deaths of these two men and other work-related injuries and…
Read moreWeek 34: Addressing Poverty - Poor People's Campaign
Addressing Poverty: The Poor People’s Campaign Weeks before the campaign was to begin, Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis, TN, while lending support to…
Read moreWeek 33: Educational Equity - Part 2: Quality Schools
Education Equity – Part 2:Quality Schools A clear vision for instruction; A staff with the capacity to see that vision through; A…
Read moreWeek 32: Education Equity - Part One: Funding
Education Equity – Part 1:Funding Despite what’s commonly believed, equal education and education equity are not the same thing. Equal education has…
Read moreWeek 31: Better Jobs: Two-Year vs. Four-Year Higher Education
Do you know the field that you want to pursue through the two-year route? Learn about America’s College Promise Plan and…
Read moreWeek 30: Decent Housing- Redlining Your Community
Check out the website Mapping Inequality to check out how the neighborhoods in your city evolved. View this Map of Socioeconomic status by the…
Read moreWeek 29: Justice - Ban the Box: 2nd Chance Too Many?
“ Over 150 cities and 29 states have adopted “Ban the Box,” which makes up over two thirds of the U.S. population.…
Read moreWeek 28: Poverty - A Tribute to the 1968 Sanitation Workers
“ The Memphis Sanitation Workers strike was resolved on April 16, when the City Council agreed to meet the union’s demands. The…
Read moreWeek 27: Peace: Nonviolence as a Way of Life
“ Rev. Dr. Bernice A. King, daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King and Freedom Award honoree, speaks to middle and…
Read moreWeek 26: Better Jobs - Resumes & Interviews Matter
“ Building a resume can be stressful and the content choices can make a difference. The qualifications and accomplishments listed on a…
Read moreWeek 25: Justice Dinner
Making more people aware of how mass incarceration is achieved through excessive sentencing for low level crimes will help to activate citizens…
Read moreWeek 24: Affordable Housing: New Challenges, Old Policies
Because the demand for renting a home is so high, many renters are forced to pay pay up to 50% of their…
Read moreWeek 23: Quality Education: Teacher Preparedness
Attend or organize a discussion on education equity and teacher preparedness in your community. The National Civil Rights Museum is partnering to…
Read moreWeek 22: Daring to Dream: Generational Poverty
LET’S GO! A Reality Check on Poverty Take the Poverty Quiz to learn more about the state of poverty in the…
Read moreWeek 21: Better Jobs: Gender Pay Gap
In the fight for economic equity, the gender pay gap – the difference between how much men and women are paid –…
Read moreWeek 19: Monumental Justice: Heritage or Hate?
Per a USA Today poll, there are over 1,000 Confederate monuments still in public spaces and they are not all in the…
Read moreWeek 18: Rethinking Education
It’s not just about quantity; it’s about QUALITY! Read a New York Times story on how a longer school year has impacted…
Read moreWeek 17: Undoing a Generation of Student Loan Debt
How can students achieve the American dream under these unfortunate circumstances? Some solutions include the government allowing students a grace period of at least…
Read moreWeek 16: The Meaning of Blight
“ Look around your neighborhood to see what areas need improving and join a city beautification…
Read moreWeek 15: Peaceful Protest: Civil Disobedience
“ From women's rights, criminal reform, LGBTQI rights, juvenile justice and much more, learn your rights by visiting the American Civil…
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