Thank You!
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. We worked to ensure that people were where they needed to be, that programs were rich in content and scope, that the […]
In Memoriam – Art Shay
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. The name Art Shay may be unfamiliar, but his work is prominently featured in the museum’s newest exhibition MLK50: A Legacy Remembered. I first became acquainted with Shay’s work, when his archivist Erica called […]
Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist, Journalist, Reformer, 1818 – 1895
An Assault in South Carolina
By Terri Lee Freeman Museum President By now, we’ve all seen the video of the police officer assaulting – yes, I said assaulting – the female student in a South Carolina classroom. We’ve heard some of the video where the police officer asked the young woman, [and I’m paraphrasing] “…are […]
Emmett Till 60 years later: the Untold Story
By Ryan Jones, Museum Historian Before Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of a dream, before Rosa Parks stood up by continuing to sit, before Bloody Sunday, there was a brutal murder in the Mississippi Delta in 1955 that awakened the hearts and minds of an entire generation. The story of Emmett […]
It’s the Inevitable
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 […]
The Crafts of Freedom
by Scott Newstok On April 3, 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was summoned to the Bishop Mason Temple in Memphis to address the striking sanitation workers and their supporters. King wasn’t scheduled to speak at the rally, but Reverend Ralph Abernathy, sensing the crowd’s disappointment, had persuaded King to come from the Lorraine Hotel to make a […]
We?re Number 2! (And that?s a VERY good thing!)
A couple weeks ago I had the opportunity to travel to Washington, DC with museum colleagues from across the country. We descended on Capitol Hill to inform our senators and congressional representatives of the importance of the museum industry to tourism, economic development, education and general community vitality. It was a brisk two days in […]
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 […]
Education is the Civil Rights Issue of Today
By Allan Golston The National Civil Rights Museum is housed on the site of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tenn., where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is a proud supporter of the museum and of Dr. King’s ideals. When I visit the museum, I am always […]
Higher Ed Remains a Rung on the Ladder of America’s Success
by: Leonard James III From pre-school to graduate school, millions of America’s youth have entered a new school year where the next generation of educators, scientists, broadcasters, financial experts, entrepreneurs and engineers will be created. Strengthening primary and secondary education is vital to securing our nation’s competitiveness and for its future prosperity. Improving our education […]
Museum Looks to past to Help Shape Future
By Dr. Russ Wigginton On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. If you ask the typical 13-year-old if they know this fact, most would probably answer yes. If you ask that same 13-year-old who shot Dr. King and why he was even in Memphis that day, […]