Throughout our country lies so much history regarding the Civil Rights Movement. In the 1960’s, our ancestors died while fighting for racial equality to exist. While there are so many historic locations in our country, here are seven of the major must-see Civil Rights landmarks.
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1. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C.
The national memorial covers four acres of land, and is where the leader delivered his iconic and most inspirational “I Have a Dream” speech. The monument is a part of the National Mall, and is open for the public to visit. His dream lives on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, and this is a must-see and landmark on any Civil Rights trips. The memorial itself is a 30-foot statue of King, and he is carved into a Stone of Hope. There are also two large boulders that the Stone of Hope emerges from, which represent Hope and Despair. His speech in 1963 is framed and cut into the rock, reading, “”Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope.”
2. The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change, also known as the King Center, in Atlanta is another must-see to get a first-hand look at the Civil Rights Movement. The “King Center†was founded in 1968. Every year, almost one million people make the trip to learn and pay their respects. The center has exhibits and a large collection of artifacts.
President Obama is just one of many visitors to the Rosa Parks Bus, located in Detroit at the Henry Ford Museum. In December 1955, when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on the bus for a white customer, her actions helped to fuel civil rights activism and push the movement even further along. Although Parks was arrested and convicted of violating the law of segregation (which later became known as Jim Crow Laws) she helped
challenge the legality of such laws. Visiting the bus today, which is part of the “With Liberty and Justice for All” exhibit at the museum, will take you and the family into that moment and the tremendous impact it had on history.
Located in Montgomery’s Greyhound Bus Station, this legendary museum portrays the history of the Freedom Rides. On May 20, 1961, 21 college students from Nashville disembarked to the bus stop, where they were met with hostility and violence. The “Freedom Riders†helped put a stop to racial segregation in interstate transportation. The building’s exterior is an award-winning exhibit, and an absolute must-see.
7. Witness: Art & Civil Rights in the ’60s
The Blanton Museum of Art at the University of Texas at Austin is presenting this exhibition of about 100 works by more than 60 artists. The collection explores how art, from painting to photography played a role in the political and social happenings during the Civil Rights Movement, but how it influenced the time. It began at the Brooklyn Museum in New York in March 2014, and continues at Blanton starting Feb. 15.