by Terri Lee Freeman, Museum President I, like many of you, have been fixated to the news reports of the unrest in Baltimore. However, for me, it is personal. Having left the Maryland area just six months ago where we worshipped in west Baltimore, around the corner from the mall […]
Category: Historical Feature
Go deep on the people, events, and turning points that shaped the civil rights movement, and connect them to the issues communities face now. Museum historians and staff examine figures like Emmett Till, Frederick Douglass, and the Freedom Riders, alongside present-day questions from police violence to the fight for LGBTQIA+ rights. Every piece ties documented history to why it still matters.
Reclaiming Malcolm X
By Ryan M. Jones, Museum Educator April 21, 2015 – 50th Commemoration of Malcolm X On the night of February 25, 1964, Cassius Clay became the heavyweight champion of the world after he defeated Sonny Liston in the seventh round. Stars from all over the world watched the fight in Miami including […]
Who Mourns for Jimmie Lee Jackson?
By Ryan M. Jones, Museum Educator On a sunny March day in 2005, a retired Alabama state trooper quietly drinks his morning coffee outside on his deck in southern Alabama. He granted an interview to John Fleming of Anniston, Alabama. At age 72, James Bonard Fowler is asked about Jimmie Lee […]
If we forget history it will repeat itself?
Mid-South Peace and Justice hosted a series of workshops called “G.O.T. Power” at the National Civil Rights Museum (NCRM) this fall. In this post, Mid-South Peace and Justice Center Training Director Gio Lopez reflects on the workshops and their alignment with the mission of NCRM. At the National Civil Rights Museum, the […]
Selma, on the long continuum of the freedom struggle
— by Hasan Kwame Jeffries [Note: This piece was inspired by the author’s remarks at a recent event honoring Dr. King’s birthday, hosted by the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. It was published January 21, 2015 on “From the Square,” NYU Press blog.] There is no right more fundamental in a democracy than […]
NYT Travel Video: 36 Hours In Memphis
The National Civil Rights Museum was recently featured in New York Times’ online travel video, “36 Hours in Memphis” featuring interesting things to do in Memphis. The section describing the museum experience reads: Lest We Forget – Head downtown to the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel (adults, $15). The museum was recently infused […]
Attorney General Eric Holder Visits Museum
It?s Time to Move!
By Terri Lee Freeman, President of National Civil Rights Museum I posed the question just last week, “Ferguson, Missouri…What’s Next?” Little did I know, that the ‘what’s next’ would be yet another grand jury finding no probable cause for having a criminal trial in the death of Eric Garner. Yes, I am angry! […]
Ferguson, Missouri… What’s Next?
The grand jury decision has shocked some, dismayed others, and confirmed what many believe — justice for young African American men is applied haphazardly at best. But the more concerning questions for me loom around the lack of transparency and due process. While many in Ferguson, MO and around the world believe nothing short of […]
Justice Delayed?
by Ryan M. Jones November 21, 2014 On March 28, 1997, Dexter King, the youngest son of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. walked inside of a Tennessee Penitentiary to meet the man who has been convicted as his father’s assassination. James Earl Ray, at age 79 did not stutter when asked by […]
Exercising our Civil Right (?and Civic Responsibility) to VOTE! – by President Terri Lee Freeman
Terri Lee Freeman, Museum President November 4, 2014 It is a privilege and honor to be the new President of the National Civil Rights Museum. And what better time to introduce myself than Election Day 2014. It’s been stated over and over during this election season that mid-term elections are just as […]
Education Opportunity: Our Pathway to Prosperity
Educational attainment and economic development are intricately linked. A person’s wages over their lifetime can be predicted by earning a high school diploma or college degree. And, the collective impact of the educational attainment of a city’s residents predicts its economic growth. A highly educated population is likely to earn higher wages than those who […]