Tag: The Museum Campus
Go inside the museum’s buildings, artifacts, and renovations, from Founders Park to the Legacy Experience. These posts cover the physical site, the collections it holds, and the work of preserving them. The power of this place is that history happened here.
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 […]
Healing 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 in Memphis, there are few spaces more sacred than the ground outside the National Civil Rights Museum. For decades, visitors have stood outside the Lorraine Motel, eyes fixed on the balcony where Dr. […]
Breaking 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 the National Civil Rights Museum campus. What began as a necessary safety barrier for construction and renovation became, over time, a powerful symbol of disconnection—physically and figuratively. For museum staff and passersby alike, […]
Week 11: Realities of Poverty Today
“ 43.1 million people in America (13.5 percent of the population) were poor in 2015. Majority of poor families (2/3) are working families in both urban and suburban communities. 36% of suburban poor own their homes Non – Hispanic whites are 44% of the poor population in the suburbs. 70% of poor whites in the […]
Week 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 monthly income (20% more than recommended). (1) “Mapping America’s Rental Housing Crisis,” Urban Institute. April 27, 2017. LET’S GO! Tips On Making Home Affordable President Barack Obama created programs to assist home buyers […]
Letter to the Community: Urgent Support for the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)
Dear Friends and Supporters, The National Civil Rights Museum has been privileged to serve as a center for learning, remembrance, and dialogue about the civil rights movement. Thanks to the support of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), we have been able to grow our capacity, provide invaluable opportunities for rising museum professionals, […]
Model Slave Cabin
Among the interstingly novel artifacts in the National Civil Rights Museum’s collection is a model slave cabin donated to the museum along with figurines, furniture and accessories. It was fashioned by the well-regarded dollhouse enthusiast Jacqueline Andrews of Ashland, Virginia. In 1975, Barbara Grey commissioned Ms. Andrew to create these dolls and the house. It was […]
The Lorraine Motel Guest Book
One of the unique collections housed at the National Civil Rights Museum is the Evidence Collection, related to the trial of Martin Luther King’s assassin James Earl Ray. Among the 1,760 items in this collection is the Lorraine Motel guest book from 1968. In this book, Walter Bailey, the proprietor of the establishment, made note […]
Lorraine Motel
For this month’s blog, I want to share two photographs from our Lorraine Motel archive collection. The National Civil Rights Museum provides an engaging narrative of the civil rights struggle, but few know the story behind our most important artifact, the motel building itself. In 1945, a local African American businessman, Walter Bailey (no relation […]
Water Dippers
Jim Crow restrictions separated the races in America in every aspect of public life. Restaurants, buses, trains, restrooms, theatres, water fountains and workplaces posted “White Only” and “Colored” signs to remind people of their place. Jim Crow restrictions separated the races in America in every aspect of public life. Restaurants, buses, trains, restrooms, theatres, water […]
The Civil Rights Act Gave Way to Reform, but Flaws in the Language Left the Job Unfinished
Photo Credit: LBJ Library photo by Cecil Stoughton By Dr. Russ Wigginton Guest Columnist The Civil Rights Act Did Not Solve Racism The enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not diminish the racial violence against Black Americans. Segments of Black America were philosophically fractured and disillusioned about whether the nonviolent tactics would […]