The North Has Something To Say: Urban Civil Rights Museum To Tell The Tale Of Northern Black Activism

The Urban Civil Rights Museum will be housed in the Urban League's Empowerment Center in Manhattan.

A museum dedicated to the history of civil rights movements and its impact on Northern cities is set to open in Harlem this year.

The Urban Civil Rights Museum is being developed by the National Urban League and will be housed in its Empowerment Center on 125th Street in Manhattan. Occupying about 20,000 square feet of exhibition and programming space, the museum aims to educate visitors about how the struggle for racial justice shaped major urban centers.

The permanent exhibit will include stories of people and organizations central to the movement.

The museum is being developed in partnership with Local Projects, a design and technology firm, to provide interactive installations, rotating exhibits, and public programs that explore topics including the Harlem Renaissance, the Great Migration, and Northern civil rights activism. It will also highlight the National Urban League’s work in advancing economic and social opportunities for Black Americans.

“As a museum focused on social justice, we hope to connect and communicate with the people, communities, and initiatives that are interested or becoming interested in fighting for change,” Jennifer Scott, the museum’s director and chief curator, said in a statement. “The museum will be a place where one can see and feel the work of the many people who fought for justice in urban centers in the North and reflect on past civil rights efforts so that we can imagine and inspire new possibilities of collective action.”

Scott said the permanent installation will also attempt to answer questions about Black people in the North “pre-Civil War” and how they engaged with the concept of freedom when many were still enslaved.

The museum, expected to open in June 2026 to coincide with the organization’s 250th anniversary, will be the first in New York City dedicated specifically to the American civil rights movement with a focus on northern urban environments.

The Urban Civil Rights Museum will be part of the Urban League Empowerment Center, a recently opened headquarters and community hub that also includes affordable housing and space for minority-owned businesses. The National Urban League said the museum will serve as a resource for scholars, residents, and tourists, connecting local history with broader national stories of activism and change.