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 […]
Museum Statement on the Passing of Hugh Masekela and Wyatt Tee Walker
January 23, 2018 will go down in civil rights history as a sad day. Two of the icons of the 20th century civil rights movement made their transition – Ramapolo Hugh Masekela and Rev. Wyatt Tee Walker. Hugh Masekela was a renowned South African composer. In a career spanning more than five decades, Masekela […]
A Humanitarian, A Gentle-Man
Commentary by Terri Lee Freeman President, National Civil Rights Museum On Saturday, July 2, 2016, the world lost a survivor, an advocate, a teller of truth, and a believer that ALL human life has merit and purpose. Elie Wiesel was a Holocaust survivor, an author and a Freedom Award recipient in 1995. He worked […]
In Memory of Rev. Samuel “Billy” Kyles
We are deeply saddened by the passing of Rev. Samuel Billy Kyles. Our deepest condolences to the Kyles family. Rev. Kyles was a beloved member of the National Civil Rights Museum family and a lifelong member of the National Civil Rights Museum board of directors. As a lasting tribute, he will be named board member […]
Who Mourns for Jimmie Lee Jackson?
By Ryan M. Jones, Museum Educator On a sunny March day in 2005, a retired Alabama state trooper quietly drinks his morning coffee outside on his deck in southern Alabama. He granted an interview to John Fleming of Anniston, Alabama. At age 72, James Bonard Fowler is asked about Jimmie Lee […]
It?s Time to Move!
By Terri Lee Freeman, President of National Civil Rights Museum I posed the question just last week, “Ferguson, Missouri…What’s Next?” Little did I know, that the ‘what’s next’ would be yet another grand jury finding no probable cause for having a criminal trial in the death of Eric Garner. Yes, I am angry! […]