“Our mission is
to empower you
to take the
protection of
every human’s
rights
personally.”
-Center for Civil and Human
Rights
The King Center was impressive in its own light—certainly the first and oldest (nearly 50 years)
repository of the life and works of Dr. King. But the museum chronicles the breadth of the Civil Rights
Era, from 1954 to present day struggles of equality and human rights.
When I approached the civil rights museum, I was struck by the modern architecture, the angled-roof line,
floor-to-ceiling walls of windows, and the diversity of people milling around snapping photographs. After
paying a reasonable entry fee (senior rate), I walked through the metal detectors, greeted the imposing
park rangers, and stared, mouth-gaping, at the oversized-colorful collage of civil rights images and
statements of the past and present (see cover photo).
After a couple of minutes, I passed through the entryway to the first exhibit, “Rolls down like Water: The
American Civil Rights Movement” gallery. On the right was a massive photo array of black suffrage (the
oppressed). On the left was a similar black-and-white collage of white oppressors wearing sheets and
carrying torches. The year was 1954, two years before my own birth. It was like entering a time warp. My
childhood memories flooded back as I viewed in-your-face- images that screamed “NO COLOREDS
ALLOWED,” and “WE WASH FOR WHITES ONLY” on the windows of the neighborhood laundry.
Walking further into the dimly-lit space, I was met with the sound of old news reel playing on antique
television sets. The walls of the room were covered with familiar photos of race riots, peaceful protests
and little-known, soon-to-be-famous activists. I viewed personal items in the “Voice to the Voiceless: the
Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection” gallery, that offered insight into the life a man
who changed the world.
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