Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is a subsidiary of the Smithsonian Institution and an affiliate of the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument. It generally seeks to inform and explain through galleries. It is also a research center found next to Kelly Ingram Park in the Civil Rights district. It advocates thorough comprehension of the importance of civil rights developments in the city. BCRI is a non-profit institution opened on November 1992. It has been reportedly visited by millions of tourists from all around the country and even those from other countries since it started its operation in 1992.
History
In 1978, Mayor David Vann first thought of building a museum to honor the history of the civil rights movement in Birmingham, Alabama. Vann was convinced that the healing process would begin with the remembrance of the past. After a year, a recommendation was proposed by the Birmingham City Council. Richard Arrington, the newly-elected mayor and the first ever African American mayor pursued the plan by appointing a Civil Rights Museum Study Committee. They created a board of directors and carry out with the acquisition of property.
The initial idea of a museum developed into a Civil Rights Institute in the year 1986. Mayor Arrington employed a team that created a mission statement together with an architectural company and planning consultants to head-start the preparation on the land where the 1963 marches and protests were held.
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is open to the public from 10 am to 5 pm every Tuesday to Saturday. It is also open on Sundays from 1 pm to 5 pm, except during major holidays.
The initial idea of a museum developed into a Civil Rights Institute in the year 1986. Mayor Arrington employed a team that created a mission statement together with an architectural company and planning consultants to head-start the preparation on the land where the 1963 marches and protests were held.
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is open to the public from 10 am to 5 pm every Tuesday to Saturday. It is also open on Sundays from 1 pm to 5 pm, except during major holidays.
Exhibits
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute showcases interpretive stories of the plight of the Civil Rights Movement from the times of segregation, through the ups and downs of the activists in 1960 and the persistent fight for human rights all over the world.
The 27,000 square feet of the exhibition features the iconic colored and whites only fountains which became a significant symbol of segregation and the civil rights movement in Birmingham.
Other exhibits feature the development of businesses owned by African-Americans. This includes barbershops and other commercial businesses on the 4th avenue. There are also exhibits that try to reflect courtroom scenes of the south.
The 27,000 square feet of the exhibition features the iconic colored and whites only fountains which became a significant symbol of segregation and the civil rights movement in Birmingham.
Other exhibits feature the development of businesses owned by African-Americans. This includes barbershops and other commercial businesses on the 4th avenue. There are also exhibits that try to reflect courtroom scenes of the south.
Research Center
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute has a collection of historical accounts and a library of important documents about the Civil Rights history. Students get access to multi-media resources using their computer terminals. The "Behind the Veil Oral History Project" that archived videotaped interviews of activists is the main attraction of the collection. These materials are also available in the BCRI's Online Resource Gallery.
Researches would benefit a lot in the archives division of the Civil Rights Institute because it has a collection of documents for research about issues on human rights. Archives from the Emancipation Association of Birmingham, The Concerned White Citizens of Alabama, the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, and some journals and newspapers are some of the institute's featured collections.
More information.
Researches would benefit a lot in the archives division of the Civil Rights Institute because it has a collection of documents for research about issues on human rights. Archives from the Emancipation Association of Birmingham, The Concerned White Citizens of Alabama, the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights, and some journals and newspapers are some of the institute's featured collections.
More information.