Tag: The Movement
Read about the people and campaigns that built the civil rights movement, from the Freedom Riders to the March on Washington. These posts cover the organizers, marches, and turning points that changed the country. Each one connects a documented event to the struggle that continues now.
The 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 has been seeking to do for over a decade. It diluted the integrity of the Voting Rights Act without technically saying so. In a 6-3 decision written by Justice Samuel Alito in Louisiana v. Callais, the Court effectively rendered […]
Museum 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 on the Museum The National Civil Rights Museum mourns the passing of Rev. Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Jr., one of the most influential strategists and organizers of the modern Civil Rights Movement and a […]
Museum 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 rights movement and a global ambassador for justice, peace, and equality. His passing marks the end of an era defined by fearless advocacy and unrelenting hope for a more just and inclusive world. […]
Forty 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 the longest legislative battles in modern U.S. history, the United States established the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday, a national recognition not only of Dr. King’s leadership but of the moral force of […]
Legacy 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, it will do more than welcome guests into an updated facility. It will usher them into an urgent and immersive journey through the unfinished business of civil rights. What once served as the […]
Black 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 fueled by recent executive orders and sweeping federal oversight. Such directives are a threat to undermine the integrity of fact-based historical interpretation and threaten to silence the very stories our institutions were built […]
Sixty 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 (VRA), one of the most consequential victories in American history. Nearly a century after the 15th Amendment promised Black men the right to vote, the VRA responded to relentless efforts to deny African […]
Week 5: Poverty: A Moral Dilemma
Watch this video of Dr. King speaking about poverty while in Mississippi for the Poor People's Campaign. Watch historian Taylor Branch and theologian James Cone talking on what motivated Dr. King's fight in the Poor People's Campaign on the Moyers & Company show. During the Poor People's Campaign, SCLC developed an Economic Bill of Rights. […]
Week 6: Better Jobs = Better Society
LET'S GO! In 2016, PBS Newshour produced a quiz, Do you live in a bubble? Quiz. This quiz offers some perspective on how your position in American society is affected by numerous factors. What did the quiz reveal to you? Did it alter your perspective of where you stand in the American economic society? Share your […]
Week 7: Quality Education
As early as the nineteenth century there have been cases of families challenging education inequity in their communities. One example is Ruby Bridges. In 1960, first grader Ruby Bridges made history when she was the first African American student to integrate the William Franz Elementary School, a public school in New Orleans. Ruby Bridges was honored in 2015 […]
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 […]