The National Civil Rights Museum Hosts Tamika D. Mallory For Women’s History Month

Her return to Memphis is meaningful

Written By Lillien Cirino

The National Civil Rights Museum is hosting social justice activist and best-selling author Tamika D. Mallory as part of its Women’s History Month programming. Mallory will discuss her latest memoir, I Lived to Tell the Story: A Memoir of Love, Legacy, and Resilience, at the Memphis, Tennessee, location on March 12 at 6 PM CST.

Mallory’s appearance at the National Civil Rights Museum celebrates the national observance of Women’s History Month, which traces back to 1978, when the Education Task Force of the Sonoma County [California] Commission on the Status of Women planned and executed a “Women’s History Week” celebration. By 1987, the celebration expanded to the entire month of March to recognize women’s contributions to American history, culture, and society.

Mallory last visited the Civil Rights Museum almost eight years ago during the MLK50 commemoration ceremony for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Her return to Memphis is as meaningful.

“Tamika Mallory represents a generation of leaders who are willing to confront injustice publicly while also doing the courageous work of self-examination privately,” museum President Russ Wigginton said in a statement.

Mallory, who was raised in Harlem, New York, by civil rights activist parents who were founding members of Rev. Al Sharpton’s National Action Network (NAN), is no stranger to community advocacy and political activism. Her achievements include becoming the youngest executive director in NAN’s history and national recognition as a co-chair of the 2017 Women’s March in Washington, D.C., one of the largest single-day demonstrations in U.S. history.

In 2021, Mallory published State of Emergency: How We Win in the Country We Built, following the murder of George Floyd and the nationwide unrest that followed. The book became a New York Times best-seller and one of the foundations for her career in political literature.

Her latest memoir, released at the beginning of 2025, offers insight into her inner world. In I Lived to Tell the Story, Mallory writes about growing up in Harlem, navigating public scrutiny and trauma, and balancing activism with motherhood and personal relationships.

Today, Mallory is the co-founder of Until Freedom, a nonprofit organization dedicated to educating, leading, and encouraging community engagement.

Be on the lookout for more events hosted by the National Civil Rights Museum. More information can be found on the museum website.