National Civil Rights Museum | At the Lorraine Motel

The Greatest Civil Rights Story Ever told

Plan your visit now

This history is more important than ever.  We remain seriously committed to the safety of our guests and staff and to sharing the stories that changed our nation. We invite you to be a change maker. Schedule your visit the National Civil Rights Museum.

Plan Your Visit
  • hotel exterior

    This is the History Behind the Movement

    Slavery. Separate but equal. Boycotts. Assassinations. Black power. This is the history of the uprising that pushed national and international civil rights forward.

    Visit the Museum
  • NCRM events

    Museum Events. The Reawakening.

    Exciting events, extraordinary speakers and special guests turn civil rights history into a one-of-a-kind museum experience

    Be in the Moment
  • I Am A Man

    This Is The Story Of A People

    Of hopes and dreams, of challenge and change. It is an American story. This story and struggle that started many centuries ago, continues today — with you.

    Experience the Story

Museum Events

Freedom Award

Since 1991, we have honored our brothers and sisters who have worked to push the movement forward. Their legacies have crossed color lines, cultural divisions and spanned across the globe.

Learn More

Shining A Light on Wrongful Convictions

Anthony Ray Hinton survived for 30 years on Alabama's death row. His story is a decades-long journey to exoneration and freedom. In 1985, Mr. Hinton was convicted of the unsolved murders of two fast-food restaurant managers based on the testimony of ballistics experts for the State. Hinton, the best-selling author of The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row, presents his compelling, decades-long journey to exoneration and freedom. This event is in partnership with the Tennessee Innocence Project.

Register Here

Ruby Bridges Reading Festival

For the fifth year, the museum is proud to partner with civil rights icon Ruby Bridges-Hall to present the Ruby Bridges Reading Festival. This year’s festival promotes the importance of reading for students pre-K to middle school. Children and educators, with a valid school ID, will receive free books from this year’s festival.

Learn More

Small But Mighty Storytime Series

The Museum has launched its Small but Mighty Storytime summer series for children and families on Thursdays through August 11. Book topics emphasize fairness, love, kindness, diversity, hope, courage, and the power of the community.

Learn More

Communities for Immunity

Through the Communities for Immunity project, the museum is sharing online resources and a survey to gauge response to the urgency of COVID and getting vaccinated. 

Learn More

Donate

Your gift will keep history alive for all generations.

Donate Now

Join

Museum members receive complimentary visits, invitations to special events, gift shop discounts and other benefits.

Join Now

Shop

Continue your museum experience with inspirational and unique gifts.

Shop Now

Featured Exhibits

A Better Life for Their Children

A Better Life for Their Children: Julius Rosenwald, Booker T. Washington, and the 4,978 Schools that Changed America is a photography exhibition about Rosenwald Schools built in the segregated South from 1912 to 1937 that transformed education for Black students. Showing August 18, 2022-January 2, 2023.

Learn More

Voices of the Civil Rights Movement

This walk-up kiosk combines two video archives into one interactive display. The exhibit runs for multiple years.

Learn More

From the Vault: Collections Blog

Check out the latest artifacts and photos From the Vault, our collections blog.

From the Vault

National Civil Rights Museum Blogs

There’s plenty of history in the making here at the National Civil Rights Museum.

Museum Statement Regarding the Passing of Bill Russell

The National Civil Rights Museum mourns the passing of 2011 Freedom Award honoree and sports pioneer, William Felton Russell. Following baseball legend Jackie Robinson’s example,...

Read More

Museum Launches Corporate Equity Center with AutoZone Support

The National Civil Rights Museum (NCRM) announces its launch of the Corporate Equity Center. The NCRM’s Corporate Equity Center will provide programs to learn, discuss,...

Read More

Museum Statement Regarding the Passing of Sidney Poitier

The National Civil Rights Museum joins the world in grieving the loss of a great icon and its 2001 Freedom Award honoree, Mr. Sidney Poitier. Poitier...

Read More
Enable Recite