LET'S GET STARTED WITH 2 ACTION ITEMS! Share the Pledge for Peace and Action with others. Click the link bit.ly/mlk50pledge. Read Dr. King's book, Where Do We Go from Here: From Chaos to Community, or listen to parts of the speech from this audio clip. Read the full manuscript here of Dr. King's “Where Do We Go from Here?” speech. Kids […]
Tag: Nonviolence
Study nonviolence as a strategy and a way of life, from Dr. King’s teaching to peaceful protest today. These posts examine civil disobedience, direct action, and the discipline behind the movement’s victories. Nonviolence was a method, not an accident.
Week 2: What is Peace?
When we remember Dr. King, it is important to think of peace. Dr. King learned about peace from studying Mahatma Gandhi's words and taking a trip to India to study Gandhi's teachings. For the perspective of a young activist, watch and listen to “World Peace” by clicking here . Learn more about Mahatma Gandhi by […]
Week 3: A Threat to Justice
Get the facts: Watch Ava DuVernay's documentary 13th about the justice system in the U.S. Available on Netflix. Watch this video about the impact of Dr. King's “A Letter from a Birmingham Jail .” Click for a list of national social justice organizations with which to connect. There is likely a group in your neighborhood […]
Week 9: Peace: The Nonviolent Way
Just as Dr. King strategized to change segregated public transportation laws, we can also strategize to create change and bring peace in a situation and/or the world. We can start small by inviting a person of another race to dinner for a mutual cultural experience or letting a person who seems angry and rushed in […]
Week 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 high school students about nonviolence at the National Civil Rights Museum’s Freedom Award Student Forum on October 19, 2017. LET’S GO! Seek friendship and understanding. The goal of nonviolence is not to defeat […]
Week 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 Plans to Depart Justice Department,” The United States Department of Justice, September 25, 2014. To learn more about Robert F. Kennedy’s legacy 50 years later, listen to this WBUR podcast. The Ambassador Hotel, the site […]
Mississippi Burning: From Murder Mayhem to a Mighty Mission
by Ryan M. Jones, Associate Curator Sixty years ago, the state of Mississippi was a hotbed for civil rights. It led the nation in racially motivated violence, and less than 3% of the black population was registered to vote. Following the events of the year 1963, in which Americans were horrified by witnessing the attacks […]
Bayard Rustin – Strategist, Organizer, Unifier
As he approached the podium, Bayard Rustin was determined and elated. He expected about 100,000 marchers to converge at the Washington Monument on August 28, 1963. To his delight, approximately 250,000 people cheered as he listed the demands of the march. The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom began after eight weeks of recruiting […]
John Lewis: Freedom Rider
In a 1961 strategy meeting, members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) gather in Alabama to discuss their next moves. Key among them is a young activist named John Lewis, a member of SNCC who had been attacked by the Ku Klux Klan in Rock Hill, South […]
Mississippi Burning: From Murder Mayhem to a Mighty Mission
by Ryan M. Jones, Associate Curator Sixty years ago, the state of Mississippi was a hotbed for civil rights. It led the nation in racially motivated violence, and less than 3% of the black population was registered to vote. Following the events of the year 1963, in which Americans were horrified by witnessing the attacks […]
Letter to the Community: Response to Video in the Murder of Tyre Nichols
“Every man of humane convictions must decide on the protest that best suits his convictions, but we must all protest.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in his speech “Beyond Vietnam,” April 4, 1967 at Riverside Church in New York City. Watching the horrible circumstances that resulted in Tyre Nichols’ death is hard to […]
Museum Statement Regarding the Insurrection at Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021
Museum Statement Regarding the Insurrection at Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021 Dr. King once said, “We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.” Words matter. Leadership matters. The siege on Capitol Hill yesterday during the joint Congress’ ratification of the presidential election should be condemned, not coddled. What the world witnessed […]