Category: National Civil Rights Museum
Wednesday, January 27, 2021
By Herb Hilliard
Chair, Museum Board of Directors
Terri Lee Freeman answered the call to lead the National Civil Rights Museum in November 2014. She arrived just a few months after the museum’s most expansive renovation. She came to the museum understanding the huge investment and brought with her a new perspective on what the museum could represent in not only telling the story of the civil rights movement, but extending the story through the museum’s outreach and...
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at Wednesday, January 27, 2021
Thursday, January 7, 2021
Museum Statement Regarding the Insurrection at Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021
Dr. King once said, “We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence.”
Words matter. Leadership matters.
The siege on Capitol Hill yesterday during the joint Congress’ ratification of the presidential election should be condemned, not coddled. What the world witnessed yesterday was not a protest, but a riotous mob and an insurrection. We need to call...
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at Thursday, January 7, 2021
As he approached the podium, Bayard Rustin was determined and elated. He expected about 100,000 marchers to converge at the Washington Monument on August 28, 1963. To his delight, approximately 250,000 people cheered as he listed the demands of the march. The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom began after eight weeks of recruiting marchers, coordinating buses and marshals, scheduling speakers, and managing logistics. Despite Rustin’s critical role as the march’s chief...
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The National Civil Rights Museum Celebrates Black Music Month
Music has been intrinsically linked with the Civil Rights Movement and African American history. Our celebration of Black Music Month began as a way to connect with you during this pandemic. However, as the current moment has unfolded, it has become a way for us to use music to educate, heal, reflect, and inspire.
Each week, we will release a themed playlist curated by the NCRM staff. Share with us your recommendations using...
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Thursday, May 28, 2020
By Terri Lee Freeman, Museum President
I have always looked at the glass as half full as opposed to empty. But even so, I consider myself more of a pragmatist than an optimist. As an African American woman, I’ve experienced how ugly the world can be. I’ve experienced both blatant and more insidious racism. I’ve been called a nigger. I’ve been assumed to be the assistant to my white CFO when, in fact, I was the CEO. I’ve watched...
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at Thursday, May 28, 2020
From Black Enterprise , May 24, 2020
by Terri Lee Freeman
Just as 9/11 defined the new millennium, the novel coronavirus will certainly be the story of the decade.
The global pandemic has caused a devastating public health crisis, initiated a global economic disaster, and in the United States, pulled back the curtain on the deep-rooted racial inequities that persist. Just as COVID-19 is a deadly virus, so is the disease of racism, particularly systemic racism....
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Thursday, May 14, 2020
Fifty-nine years ago, the Freedom Rides of 1961 entered the state of Alabama. Potential violence awaited in Anniston and Birmingham. Below, the backstory of how the Freedom Rides began and how one of the most pivotal protests in the Civil Rights Movement came about. While we know the names of notable activists like James Lawson and Diane Nash, there are numerous overlooked details behind the scenes of this epic event.
The Freedom Riders story began fifteen years earlier in 1946 when...
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at Thursday, May 14, 2020
Tuesday, September 24, 2019
Sometime around August 20, 1619 (the exact date is not known), a ship arrived on the shores of Point Comfort, Virginia with between 20 and 30 Africans…and thus the Inter-Atlantic theft and enslavement of African people began.
Thanks to the 1619 Project, an initiative of the New York Times , spearheaded by Nikole Hannah Jones, a staff writer for New York Times Magazine and a 2017 MacArthur Fellow, we have accurate information being openly discussed in the media about the true...
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at Tuesday, September 24, 2019
MORE #STOLENLIVES
When will it be enough?
by Terri Lee Freeman
President, National Civil Rights Museum
In the span of 24 hours America was shaken by the report of two mass shootings resulting in the deaths of 31 people – 22 killed at a WalMart in El Paso, TX and 9 killed in Dayton, OH in an entertainment district. Not unlike most everyone who breathes fresh air, my heart grieves for every family that said good-bye to their loved ones, not expecting it would be so...
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The National Civil Rights Museum is among 10 institutions the Institute of Museum and Library Services announced today as recipients of the 2019 National Medal for Museum and Library Service s , the nation’s highest honor given to libraries and museums that make significant and exceptional contributions to their communities. Over the past 25 years, the award has celebrated institutions that are making a difference for individuals, families, and communities.
Selected from 30...
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