The Freedom Award: An Honor Well Defined & Well Deserved
By Terri Lee Freeman, Museum President In 1991 the National Civil Rights Museum began a tradition of taking the time to honor the ordinary people who did extraordinary things to secure, preserve and protect the rights guaranteed to all citizens of our great nation through the Constitution. These were the foot […]
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 […]
We?ve Got Work To Do
By Terri Lee Freeman Museum President On Saturday, August 15, 2015 the fight for freedom lost a soldier – Julian Bond. The life of Julian Bond is a message to young and old alike. As a college student, Julian Bond took the role of activist seriously, dropping out of […]
Who was Elbert Williams?
By Jim Emison Jim Emison is an author and retired courtroom lawyer who has spent three and a half years investigating Elbert Williams’s murder and is writing a book, Elbert Williams: First to Die. To read Emison’s article on Elbert Williams in the Encyclopedia of African American History and a short bio of […]
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 […]
If we forget history it will repeat itself?
Mid-South Peace and Justice hosted a series of workshops called “G.O.T. Power” at the National Civil Rights Museum (NCRM) this fall. In this post, Mid-South Peace and Justice Center Training Director Gio Lopez reflects on the workshops and their alignment with the mission of NCRM. At the National Civil Rights Museum, the […]
Selma, on the long continuum of the freedom struggle
— by Hasan Kwame Jeffries [Note: This piece was inspired by the author’s remarks at a recent event honoring Dr. King’s birthday, hosted by the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. It was published January 21, 2015 on “From the Square,” NYU Press blog.] There is no right more fundamental in a democracy than […]
A Better Mid-South
Editorial by WMC Action News 5 General Manager Tracey Rogers January 19, 2015 A Better Mid-South_ National Civil Rights Museum – WMC Action News 5 – Memphis, Tennessee This week we remember the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I can’t think of a better time to visit the […]
NYT Travel Video: 36 Hours In Memphis
The National Civil Rights Museum was recently featured in New York Times’ online travel video, “36 Hours in Memphis” featuring interesting things to do in Memphis. The section describing the museum experience reads: Lest We Forget – Head downtown to the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel (adults, $15). The museum was recently infused […]
Happy Anniversary to 50 Years of Voting Rights Protection!
By Terri Lee Freeman, Museum President One (wo)man, one vote. This single concept is what our democracy is based on. The Founding Fathers of this country made this so through the ratification of the 15th Amendment in 1870. Each citizen of the United States of America is born with the […]
Ferguson, Missouri… What’s Next?
The grand jury decision has shocked some, dismayed others, and confirmed what many believe — justice for young African American men is applied haphazardly at best. But the more concerning questions for me loom around the lack of transparency and due process. While many in Ferguson, MO and around the world believe nothing short of […]
TOM BROKAW TO RECEIVE A 2014 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT FREEDOM AWARD
MEMPHIS, TN – (October 29, 2014) – Today the National Civil Rights Museum announced that Tom Brokaw is being honored with a Lifetime Achievement Freedom Award. He joins Frank Robinson, also a 2014 Lifetime Achievement Award recipient. Charlayne Hunter-Gault will receive the International Freedom Award; Bob Moses will receive the National Freedom Award. The Lifetime […]