Program Write-up
Fifty-nine years ago, the Freedom Rides of 1961 entered the state of Alabama. Potential violence awaited in Anniston and Birmingham. Below, the backstory of how the Freedom Rides began and how one of the most pivotal…
Program Write-up
As you move through the galleries of the National Civil Rights Museum, you follow a timeline of struggle and strength. The sounds of freedom songs trail behind you as you step into Birmingham, Alabama, a town that…
Historical Feature
Sometime around August 20, 1619 (the exact date is not known), a ship arrived on the shores of Point Comfort, Virginia with between 20 and 30 Africans…and thus the Inter-Atlantic theft and enslavement of African people…
Historical Feature
by Terri Lee Freeman President, National Civil Rights Museum In the span of 24 hours America was shaken by the report of two mass shootings resulting in the deaths of 31 people, 22 killed at a WalMart in El Paso, TX…
Historical Feature
The National Civil Rights Museum is among 10 institutions the Institute of Museum and Library Services announced today as recipients of the 2019 National Medal for Museum and Library Services, the nation’s highest honor…
Historical Feature
By Terri Lee Freeman, National Civil Rights Museum President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Acts of 1965 with the intent of eliminating the legal barriers imposed at the state and local levels…
Historical Feature
We are saddened by the passing of baseball icon Frank Robinson, a Hall of Famer, two-time MVP, and MLB’s first African-American manager. He was honored by the National Civil Rights Museum with the Freedom Award Lifetime…
From the Collection
By Terri Lee Freeman, Museum President Our issues of hate are killing our country… still. Last fall, we witnessed NBC Today Show host Megyn Kelly state, “…when I was a kid that [using blackface] was okay if you were…
Historical Feature
By Terri Lee Freeman In early October the National Civil Rights Museum, along with Bridges and Facing History and Ourselves, launched a campaign to encourage empathy. Our Open Up. Spark a Connection.
Historical Feature
I often think of a customary greeting in some African countries, ‘How are the Children?” The response is generally, “The children are well.” The question is asked because child well-being is a good measure of community…
Program Write-up
By Terri Lee Freeman Museum President A little over a month ago, we were singularly focused on MLK50. Not just the commemoration itself, but for the National Civil Rights Museum, each individual event.
Program Write-up
By Dr. Noelle N. Trent, Director of Interpretation, Collections & Education Nearly one month after his 96th birthday, April 28, Chicago-based, Bronx-born photographer Art Shay passed away.