Museums
Click on photos to enlarge.
Alexandria Black History Museum
638 North Alfred Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 838-4356
Inscribed on the plaque are the words:
In the summer of 1939, Attorney Samuel W. Tucker organized six youth William Evans, Otto Tucker, Edward Gaddis, Morris Murray, Clarence Strange and Robert Strange for a “sit in” at the Alexandria Public Library, protesting the denial of access to the African American community. The August 21, 1939, “sit in” is believed to have been the earliest in America. The arrest of five of these young men and their court case pleaded by Tucker, resulted in a separate facility for African Americans being built here at 638 North Alfred Street, the present location of the Alexandria Black History Resource Center.
The library is named after the reverend Robert Robinson, a 19th century minister at Roberts Chapel M.E. Church in the 600 block of S. Washington Street With Mrs. Evelyn Roper Beam as the first librarian, the Robert Robinson Library opened its doors to the African American community on April 24, 1940.
PHOTOS
L: Alexandria Black History Museum. R: Robert Robinson Library plaque.
SOURCES
Internet
"Alexandria Black History Museum" alexandria.gov, https://www.alexandriava.gov/BlackHistory. Web.
Site Visit
Alexandria Black History Museum. Alexandria, VA.
Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia
Currently located at 122 West Leigh Street
Richmond, VA 23220
(804) 780-9093
Behind the walls of the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia is a collection of artifacts, written records, and displays documenting the history of African Americans in Virginia. Originally a private home, the building was purchased in 1922 by the Council of Colored Women, led by Maggie Walker.
PHOTO
The Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia. Photo of building before the museum move in.
SOURCES
Internet
"Black History Museum" blackhistorymuseum.org, https://www.blackhistorymuseum.org. Web.
Site Visit
Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia. Richmond, VA.
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
520 16th Street North
Birmingham, AL 35203-1911
205-328-9696
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute provides a history of the civil rights struggle of African Americans in the United States and peoples' pursuit of civil and human rights worldwide. The Institute promotes research, provides information, and encourages discussion of local, national, and international civil and human rights.
PHOTOS
Top: Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
Bottom L: Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. R: Sign in front of building.
SOURCES
Internet
"Birmingham Civil Rights Institute" bcri.org, https://www.bcri.org/. Web.
"Birmingham Civil Right Institute", Instituhttps://civilrightstrail.com/attraction/birmingham-civil-rights-institute/. Web.
Site Visit
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute. Birmingham, AL.
Civil Rights Memorial Center
400 Washington Avenue
Montgomery, AL 36104-4344
334-956-8200
The Civil Rights Memorial Center celebrates the lives of people who fought and struggled for equality. The museum has many displays, exhibits, audio, and video recordings. It is located on the grounds of the Southern Poverty Law Center.
PHOTOS
Top L, R: Civil Rights Memorial Center.
Second L: The Black granite round table is engraved with the names of the people and the events that shaped the civil rights movement. R: Sign in front of building.
SOURCES
Internet
"Civil Rights Memorial - Sothern Poverty Law Center", splc.org, https://www.splcenter.org/civil-rights-memorial. Web.
"Civil Rights Memolrial - Southern Poverty Law Center", https://bcriohp.org/ . Web.
Site Visit
Civil Rights Memorial Center. Montgomery, AL.
Franklin and Armfield Slave Traders
1315 Duke Street
Isaac Franklin - May 26, 1789 to April 27, 1846
John Armfield - 1797 to 1871
Housed in this building is a slave museum and the Northern Virginia Urban League. Inscribed on the Franklin and Armfield History Marker are the words:
Isaac Franklin and John Armfield leased this brick building with access to the wharves and docks in 1828 as a holding pen for enslaved people being shipped from Northern Virginia to Louisiana. They purchased the building and three lots in 1832. From this location Armfield bought bonds people at low prices and shipped them south to his partner Franklin in Natchez, Mississippi and New Orleans, Louisiana, to be sold at higher prices. By the 1830’s they often sold 1000 people annually, operating as one of the largest slave-trading companies in the United States until 1836. Slave traders continuously owned the property until 1861. Department of Historic Resources.
PHOTOS
Top L, R: This building housed slaves while waiting to be sold.
Second: Sign in front of building indicating historical significance.
Third L: Sign in basement describing bars on the wall. R: Original bars on the wall in the basement used to stop slaves from escaping.
Bottom L, R: Museum displays.
SOURCES
Internet
"Franklin and Armfield", nps.gov, https://www.nps.gov/places/franklin-and-armfield-office.htm. Web.
Site Visit
Museum. Alexandria, VA.
INTERNED: Isaac Franklin - Mount Olive Cemetery, 1101 Lebanon Road, Nashville, Tennessee 37210. Phone: 615-255-4193.
John Armfield - Private cemetery on Armfield Road, Beerheeba Springs, TN 37305.
International Civil Rights Center and Museum
134 South Elm Street
Greensboro, NC 27401
336-274-9199
On February 1, 1960, four men, students from North Carolina A&T conducted the first lunch counter sit-in at the Woolworth Store in Greensboro, NC. In February of 2010, the center was dedicated to those young men.
PHOTOS
Top L: Formerly F.W. Woolworth Co. Store. Currently the International Civil Rights Center and Museum.
Bottom L: Plaque in front of store. R: Plaque on the sidewalk in front of store depicting the footsteps of the Africa American young men who sat at the Woolworth counter and expected to be served.
SOURCES
Internet
"International Civil Rights Center and Museum", sitinmovement.org, https://www.sitinmovement.org/. Web.
"International Civil Rights Center and Museum", civilrightstrail.com, https://civilrightstrail.com/attraction/international-civil-rights-center-and-museum-woolworths/. Web.
Site Visit
International Civil Rights Center and Museum. Greensboro, NC.
Little Rock Central High School Museum and Visitor's Center
14th and Park Street
Little Rock, AR 72202
501-374-1957
Central High School Museum documents, interprets, and preserves the history of school desegregation in 1957 in Little Rock, Arkansas.
PHOTO
Formerly a Mobile Gas station. Currently the Central High School Museum and Visitor's Center.
SOURCES
Site Visit
Museum and Visitor's Center. Little Rock, AK.
Internet
"Little Rock Central High School", nps.gov, https://www.nps.gov/chsc/index.htm. Web.
Lowndes Interpretive Center
7001 US Highway 80 West
Hayneville, AL 36040
334-877-1983
The Lowndes Interpretive Center, through film, exhibits, and life size figures, tells the stories of people’s personal experiences while peacefully marching from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama for voting rights. The center is dedicated to those who marched and to those who made the march possible.
PHOTOS
Top L: Lowndes Interpretive Center. R: Sign in front of building.
Bottom: L: Life-size exhibit of marchers from Selma to Montgomery, AL. R: Associated Press photo.
SOURCES
Internet
"Lowndes Interpretive Center", nps,gov, https://www.nps.gov/semo/learn/historyculture/lowndes-interpretive-center.htm. Web.
Site Visit
Lowndes Interpretive Center. Hayneville, AL.
National Civil Rights Museum
450 Mulberry Street
Memphis, TN 38103
(901) 521-9699
The National Civil Rights Museums documents key moments and events from the American civil rights movement. It is also the location of Dr. King's assassination.
PHOTOS
L: National Civil Rights Museum formerly the Lorraine Motel. R: Motel sign.
SOURCES
Internet
"\National Civil Rights Museum", civilrightsmuseum.org, https://www.civilrightsmuseum.org/. Web.
Site Visit
National Civil Rights Museum. Memphis, TN.
National Voting Rights Museum and Institute
1012 Water Avenue
Selma, AL 36701
The National Voting Rights Museum and Institute chronicles the people who sacrificed, struggled, and fought for equal treatment under the law.
PHOTOS
L: (New) National Voting Rights Museum and Institute II. R: Former National Voting Rights Museum and Institute II.
SOURCES:
Site Visit
National Voting Rights Museum and Institute. Selma, AL.
Rosa Parks Museum
Troy State University
252 Montgomery Street
Montgomery, AL 36104-3527
334-241-8615
Rosa Parks Montgomery Bus Boycott. At the bus stop on this site on December 1, 1955, Mrs. Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to boarding whites. This brought about her arrest conviction and fine. The Boycott began December 5, the day of Parks trial, as a protest by African Americans for unequal treatment they received on the bus line. Refusing to ride the busses, they maintained the Boycott until the U.S. Supreme Court ordered integration of public transportation one year later. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led the Boycott, the beginning of the modern Civil Rights Movement.
Rosa M. Parks (1913-2005) was arrested on a Montgomery bus December 1, 1955, for refusing to relinquish her seat to a white passenger. Her arrest which happened 2 blocks west on Montgomery Street, sparked the 381-day Montgomery Bus Boycott which was led by the Montgomery Improvement Association and culminated in 1956 with Browder v. Gayle with plaintiff Browder, Colvin, McDonald, Smith. Mrs. Parks an active member of St. Paul’s AME Church, was a dedicated civil rights pioneer. Today, December 1st is officially the Rosa Parks Holiday.
This sculpture was dedicated on December 1, 2019, by the City of Montgomery and the state of Alabama in observance of their bicentennial anniversaries, supported by the Montgomery County Commission.
Clydetta Fulmer, sculptor
PHOTOS
Top L: Rosa Parks Museum. R: Statue inside museum.
SOURCES
Rosa Parks Museum. Montgomery, AL.
Stax Museum of American Soul Music
926 E. McLemore Avenue
Memphis, TN 38106
901-946-2535
Inscribed on the Stax Recording Studios History Marker are the words:
On this site stood Stax Records Inc. which boasted such stars as Otis Redding, Rufus and Carla Thomas, Isaac Hayes, the Staple Singers, Albert King, the Bar-Kays and many others. It relied upon its deep soul roots to carry it through, struggling from a back street garage in 1957 to become a multi-million-dollar organization.
PHOTOS
Top L: Stax Museum of American Soul Music. R: History marker.
Bottom: Stax History Marker.
SOURCES
Internet
"Stax Museum", staxmuseum.com, https://staxmuseum.com/. Web.
Site Visit
Stax Museum of American Soul Music. Memphis, TN.