National Civil Rights Museum News

  By Ryan M. Jones, Museum Educator   April 21, 2015 – 50th Commemoration of Malcolm X     On the night of February 25, 1964, Cassius Clay became the heavyweight champion of the world after he defeated Sonny Liston in the seventh round. Stars from all over the world watched the fight in Miami including football star Jim Brown, and soul singer Sam Cooke. Thirty-eight year old Malcolm X also attended ringside. Malcolm had been in Miami... Read More

  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 Jackson, a 26-year-old activist who he claimed he shot in self-defense on February 18, 1965. “My life was in danger and he was trying to kill me. I’d done... Read More

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 exhibitions allow us to be witnesses of the history of oppression, racism, pain and sorrow throughout American history. Though... Read More

  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 right to vote. (This gets a little more complicated when you get to voting representation for territories like Puerto Rico and the District of... Read More

By Terri Lee Freeman, President of National Civil Rights Museum     I posed the question just last week, “Ferguson, Missouri…What’s Next?” Little did I know, that the ‘what’s next’ would be yet another grand jury finding no probable cause for having a criminal trial in the death of Eric Garner.   Yes, I am angry! Yes, I’m hurt! Yes, my heart aches for another family being told; “sorry your loved one was... Read More

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 a guilty verdict would be acceptable, the fact that the accused doesn't even have to go trial is most concerning.   I've asked myself over and... Read More