National Civil Rights Museum

About National Civil Rights Museum

The National Civil Rights Museum is a complex of museums and historic buildings in Memphis, Tennessee; its exhibits trace the history of the civil rights movement in the United States from the 17th century to the present. The museum is built around the former Lorraine Motel, the site of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Two other buildings and their adjacent property, also connected with the King assassination, have been acquired as part of the museum complex.

After renovations, the museum reopened in 2014 with an increase in the amount of multimedia and interactive displays, as well as various short films to show highlights. The museum is owned and operated by the Lorraine Civil Rights Museum Foundation, based in Memphis. The Lorraine Motel is owned by the Tennessee State Museum and leased long term to the Foundation to operate as part of the museum complex. In 2016, the museum was honored by becoming an affiliate museum of the Smithsonian Institution. It is also a contributing property to the South Main Street Historic District of the National Register of Historic Places.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Founded
1920

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Photos of National Civil Rights Museum

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  1. National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis01MemphisThomas R Machnitzki · CC BY-SA 3.0
  2. Display with Racist Quote from Murderer of Emmett Till - National Civil Rights Museum - Downtown Memphis - Tennessee - USA02Display with Racist Quote from Murderer of Emmett Till - National Civil Rights Museum - Downtown Memphis - Tennessee - USAAdam Jones from Kelowna, BC, Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0
  3. Lorraine-protest03Lorraine-protestAmericasroof · CC BY-SA 3.0
  4. Jacqueline Smith Protests Outside National Civil Rights Museum - Downtown Memphis - Tennessee - USA04Jacqueline Smith Protests Outside National Civil Rights Museum - Downtown Memphis - Tennessee - USAAdam Jones, Ph.D. · CC BY-SA 3.0
  5. Diorama of Rosa Parks in Her Bus Seat - National Civil Rights Museum - Downtown Memphis - Tennessee - USA05Diorama of Rosa Parks in Her Bus Seat - National Civil Rights Museum - Downtown Memphis - Tennessee - USAAdam Jones, Ph.D. · CC BY-SA 3.0
  6. Lorraine Hotel06Lorraine HotelDelan2020 · CC BY-SA 4.0

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Nearby museums

Make a day of it. 4 more museums are within a mile of National Civil Rights Museum; the closest, Blues Hall of Fame, is practically next door.