National Civil Rights Museum News

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... Read More

  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,... Read More

   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... Read More

  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... Read More

  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... Read More

  By Terri Lee Freeman   Museum President       By now, we’ve all seen the video of the police officer assaulting – yes, I said assaulting – the female student in a South Carolina classroom.  We’ve heard some of the video where the police officer asked the young woman, [and I’m paraphrasing] “…are you going to get up or are you going to make me get you up?”  Since the release of the... Read More

  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 soldiers of the American Civil Rights Movement that fought for justice and equality.   It was for these freedom fighters that the... Read More