CENTER FOR CIVIL AND HUMAN RIGHTS, Atlanta, Georgia

 52 Places to Go: Week 43

Center for Civil and Human Rights, Atlanta, Georgia

In February 2017, on a trip to Atlanta, Georgia, I visited the Center for Civil and Human Rights.

Mural in the lobby at the entrance to the museum

Located at the end of Centennial Mall on the edge of downtown Atlanta, the museum has three floors of exhibits–The American Civil Rights Movement (second/plaza floor), Human Rights (third floor), and special exhibits on the ground floor.

I entered the museum from the plaza and proceeded from there to the American Civil Rights exhibits, through a gauntlet of photos from the years of segregation.

Entrance to exhibits chronicling the American Civil Rights Movement

The left side of this passageway depicts all-white schools, churches, parties, social events and sports under a neon sign “White”. On the opposite wall, under a neon “Colored” sign, is a collage of parallel events from the “colored” world.

Aerial photo of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, August 28, 1963, and Leaders' Itinerary

At the other end of the entrance hall are a series of rooms packed with photos, quotations, videos, interactive exhibits chronicling Jim Crow laws, the battle for school desegregation, voting rights, freedom riders, the march on Washington for jobs and freedom, and much more. 

You can sit on a stool, like those at the lunch counters where sit-ins took place, and put on earphones that allow you to experience vicariously the epithets and abuse heaped on the sit-in participants. The Civil Rights exhibit ends with the assassination of Martin Luther King.

The stairway to the third floor of the museum, a replica of the Lorraine Motel where he was killed, leads to exhibits focusing on human rights worldwide.

In contrast with the dark rooms of the second floor, the upper floor of the museum are filled with light from the tall glass windows. Large panels and interactive exhibits invite the participation of viewers.

Justice We Shall Pursue (2010-2013), Quilt donated by the Peach State Stitchers

A beautiful quilt titled "Justice We Shall Pursue" depicting a tree of life surrounded by quotes and colorful patches representing 42 countries of the world hangs in one of the galleries on the third floor. "The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." This quote, in the center of the quilt, attributed to Eleanor Roosevelt, reflects the hope that people will keep working to make the world a better place.

On the lower level of the museum is a gallery for special exhibits, currently showing a selection of the Martin Luther King papers in the Morehouse College collection. These include papers and his transcript from his student years, notes and syllabi from courses he taught, favorite books, and more. (Photographs were not permitted.)

The National Center for Civil and Human Rights is dedicated to the achievements of both the civil rights movement in the United States and the broader worldwide human rights movement. Located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, the museum opened to the public on June 23, 2014.

For more information about visiting the Center for Civil and Human Rights, click HERE.

This post was first published at The Intrepid Tourist on 2/20/17.

All text and photographs copyright Caroline Arnold at The Intrepid Tourist.