For many years my family has traveled to various American historical sites. America’s history is an interesting and complex story which encompasses the good, bad and the ugly, yet our history is just that…history. It has been my honor to cover diverse and cultural events over the last 6+ years and I will always strive to do them justice.
More importantly, I owe it to my children to show them how our country has achieved great success yet in some way disappointed people over the years. Our country is great and by remembering the past, can learn how to make our future brighter.
The American Civil Rights Movement and contemporary Human Rights Movement is an important part of Atlanta’s history. Built in 1998, The Center for Civil and Human Rights, is an inspiring cultural attraction which connects the American Civil Rights Movement to today’s Global Human Rights Movement and created as a safe place to explore the fundamental rights all of human beings. We visited the museum on our recent visit to Atlanta and took advantage of its relevance in today’s current events.
Civil rights legends Evelyn Lowery and former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young, with the efforts of former Mayor Shirley Franklin launched their efforts to bring the museum a reality with corporate and community support. The exquisite center sits on the site which is part of Pemberton Place located in downtown Atlanta and north of Centennial Olympic Park. The $75 million facility sits on land donated by Coca-Cola.
The center has exhibition rights of papers belonging to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. papers which are actually owned by Morehouse College as well as seven portraits of human rights heroes by Atlanta painter Ross Rossin, a series of paintings of U.S. Rep. John Lewis by folk artist Benny Andrews and much more.
We arrived at the museum right after our World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium located next door to The Center for Civil and Human Rights on a Saturday, which meant the center was packed! The facility itself is remarkable and the exhibits are awe inspiring. But it also brought tremendous sadness to my family.
I work so hard to raise culturally aware children. Because we travel, I feel like we have regular discussions about other religions, languages and the way of life of others that seeing the suffrage of others brought me to tears. But with sadness, courage was also a central focus of the museum’s mission.
You can’t right the wrongs of others, but we can work hard to not repeat our past. If you are in the Atlanta area I highly recommend The Center for Civil and Human Rights. You can purchase deep discounted tickets and bundling your Atlanta attraction passes by purchasing a CityPASS.
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