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Thursday, September 1, 2016

Missing the Olympics

By Terri Lee Freeman Museum President It’s been little more than a week since the closing ceremony of one of the most memorable Olympic competitions in history.  The United States secured its largest number of medals ever in a non-boycotted Olympics.  The Rio Olympics saw a number of firsts – the first refugee team, the first African American woman to medal in an individual swimming event (gold no less!), the first American female to win gold in wrestling, Ibtihaj Muha... Read More
Posted by Connie Dyson at Thursday, September 1, 2016
Blog News

#StolenLives – More shootings? What's going on?

Commentary by Terri Lee Freeman President, National Civil Rights Museum Three mornings this week we’ve awakened to news of horrific violence. Three incidents. Seven people dead. Two dead from police violence. Five dead from retaliation.  36 hours. Senseless.  My heart grieves for every family that has suddenly lost a loved one.  My heart grieves for our nation.   We are living in perilous times.  Times where individuals have become emboldened in their hate an... Read More
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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 to ensure that we would never forget the atrocities of the Holocaust and continued to draw attention to the horrors of genocide throughout the world. He encouraged us to ne... Read More
Blog News

Love Can Save Us

By Terri Lee Freeman   Museum President The Sunday morning news account of the horrific and tragic slaughter that occurred at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida was particularly disturbing to me. For one thing, it brought back memories of two tragic events that I worked through in Washington, DC – September 11th at the Pentagon and the Naval Yard shooting. In my mind, all I could think about were the families and the trauma they are now facing.   But I was also distr... Read More
Blog News

The Famous Lorraine Motel

The Lorraine Motel was forever etched in America’s collective memory with the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968, but even before that fateful day, the property at 450 Mulberry Street had a fascinating history in its own right. Before it was the Lorraine, it was the Marquette Hotel that catered to black clientele in segregated Memphis. Then, in 1945 black businessman Walter Bailey purchased the hotel, which he re-christened the Lorraine after his wife Loree and the popul... Read More
Blog

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 emeritus.   In death, as in life, Rev. Kyles' highly acclaimed story as the last “witness" to Dr. King’s final hours will remain in the The Mountaintop... Read More
Blog News

Monday, April 4, 2016

48 Years Later…

  By Terri Lee Freeman   Museum President   April 4, 1968 was a dark day in our nation’s history. On that date we lost the hope of many. For some, it simply solidified what they believed to be true -- that hate and evil win once again. And, still for others the message was sent that even with civil rights gains, race relations in the United States of America had a long way to go.   Today, in 2016, it is clear that that last statement remains true, race relatio... Read More
Posted by Connie Dyson at Monday, April 4, 2016
Blog

Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Self-Destruction: A Case Study of Violence and Hip Hop

   by Ryan M. Jones   Museum Educator         In March 2016, the National Civil Rights Museum opened a controversial exhibition entitled Kin Killin’ Kin. Artist James Pate has created images comparing Black-on-Black violence to the history of terrorism by the Ku Klux Klan. The graphics show African American youth murdering each other wearing Klan regalia. Visual references to episodes in the Civil Rights Movement and the Hip Hop culture are inc... Read More
Posted by Connie Dyson at Wednesday, March 23, 2016
Blog

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Frederick Douglass: Abolitionist, Journalist, Reformer, 1818 - 1895

  By Dr. Noelle Trent   Director of Interpretation, Collections and Education   Frederick Douglass, an icon of American history, was born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey in Talbot County, Maryland in 1818. Born a slave, Douglass escaped to freedom in his early twenties. He rose to fame with the 1845 publication of his first book The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, Written By Himself. He fought throughout most of his career for the aboli... Read More
Posted by Connie Dyson at Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Blog

Tuesday, January 5, 2016

Resolve to See the Promise

  By Terri Lee Freeman   Museum President   It's a new year -- my favorite time of year because it is so symbolic.   A new year is a signal for another chance and a fresh start. While it doesn't mean we get to erase the past, it does suggest that we should learn from the past and move forward to do better. The bridge from 2015 to 2016 was particularly poignant for me as my family welcomed a new generation. A beautiful baby boy born to our eldest daughter. As... Read More
Posted by Connie Dyson at Tuesday, January 5, 2016
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