Latest news with #NationalCivilRightsMuseum
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
What is Juneteenth? The meaning behind the June 19 federal holiday
June 19 marks Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. It became a federal holiday in 2021 when then-President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. Now, across the country, many people have off from work and use Juneteenth to celebrate, reflect and educate themselves on the dark history of slavery in the U.S. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865. That was when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that over 250,000 enslaved people were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln and declared slaves in Confederate states were free. Originally celebrated by newly freed Black communities in Texas with religious services, barbecues and symbolic traditions like discarding clothing worn during enslavement, the holiday has since grown beyond Texas and the South. Though festivities resurfaced in Black communities during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement as a way to honor their legacy, the holiday — sometimes referred to by other names such as 'Second Independence Day,' 'Freedom Day,' 'Emancipation Day' or 'Black Fourth of July' — gained national attention once again during the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement. The movement inspired Congress and Biden to create an official federal holiday to honor Juneteenth the following year. Modern Juneteenth festivities are vibrant and celebratory, and typically involve outdoor activities like cookouts and picnics. Large community events are also held: Last year, the White House hosted a concert on the South Lawn for Juneteenth and Black Music Month. This year, Juneteenth events across the country include things like film screenings, festivals, concerts and other community cultural events. In an opinion piece for the Arizona Republic, Greg Moore wrote, 'It's a good time to find a community of people and celebrate the racial progress we've made over the last few decades…And given all the separation Black Americans have faced through history, it would be fitting to celebrate in a community gathering — the bigger, the better.' Some people may prefer to use Juneteenth as a day of reflection, education and remembrance. That could include going to a museum, some of which are hosting special programs for the holiday on Black American history. The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn., is marking Juneteenth with free admission and educational activities for families. This year, many Juneteenth events have been scaled back or canceled because companies and local governments are cutting funding for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. You can honor Juneteenth even if you are not Black, Karida Brown, a sociology professor at Emory University, told the Associated Press. Brown explained that the history of slavery in America is all of our history, and it's important to recognize 'the good, the bad, the ugly, the story of emancipation and freedom for your Black brothers and sisters under the Constitution of the law.' However, Moore wrote in the Arizona Republic that it's important not to let Juneteenth go the way of holidays like Cinco de Mayo, in which cultures are reduced to harmful stereotypes. He's afraid Black culture can be 'warped beyond recognition' during disrespectful celebrations. 'There shouldn't be any blackface or watermelon jokes,' he said. While red, green and black are colors associated with Juneteenth — those are the colors of the pan-African flag, which represents the African diaspora and the unity of Black people — the Juneteenth flag is red, white and blue. It was created in 1997 by community organizer and activist Ben 'Boston Ben' Haith in order to give the holiday a unifying symbol. 'For so long, our ancestors weren't considered citizens of this country,' Haith said in an interview with Capital B. 'But realistically, and technically, they were citizens. They just were deprived of being recognized as citizens. So I thought it was important that the colors portray red, white, and blue, which we see in the American flag.' The star in the center stands for two things: Texas, where Juneteenth began, and, according to Haith, the white burst around the star symbolizes a new star being born — representing a new beginning for Black Americans. The red arc below it represents a horizon, signifying progress and hope for the future. While Juneteenth is now a federal holiday, people employed in the private sector are not legally required to recognize or observe the holiday. In turn, privately owned shops, restaurants, grocery stores and other retail businesses will likely keep normal hours on the holiday unless they choose to honor the holiday in some way. Most major banks, as well as the stock market, are closed on Juneteenth. So is the post office and other federal offices. Public schools and libraries are typically closed as well.
Yahoo
17-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
What is Juneteenth? The meaning behind the June 19 federal holiday
June 19 marks Juneteenth, a holiday that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved people in the United States. It became a federal holiday in 2021 when then-President Joe Biden signed the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law. Now, across the country, many people have off from work and use Juneteenth to celebrate, reflect and educate themselves on the dark history of slavery in the U.S. Juneteenth commemorates June 19, 1865. That was when Union General Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas, and announced that over 250,000 enslaved people were free, more than two years after the Emancipation Proclamation was issued by President Abraham Lincoln and declared slaves in Confederate states were free. Originally celebrated by newly freed Black communities in Texas with religious services, barbecues and symbolic traditions like discarding clothing worn during enslavement, the holiday has since grown beyond Texas and the South. Though festivities resurfaced in Black communities during the 1960s Civil Rights Movement as a way to honor their legacy, the holiday — sometimes referred to by other names such as 'Second Independence Day,' 'Freedom Day,' 'Emancipation Day' or 'Black Fourth of July' — gained national attention once again during the 2020 Black Lives Matter movement. The movement inspired Congress and Biden to create an official federal holiday to honor Juneteenth the following year. Modern Juneteenth festivities are vibrant and celebratory, and typically involve outdoor activities like cookouts and picnics. Large community events are also held: Last year, the White House hosted a concert on the South Lawn for Juneteenth and Black Music Month. This year, Juneteenth events across the country include things like film screenings, festivals, concerts and other community cultural events. In an opinion piece for the Arizona Republic, Greg Moore wrote, 'It's a good time to find a community of people and celebrate the racial progress we've made over the last few decades…And given all the separation Black Americans have faced through history, it would be fitting to celebrate in a community gathering — the bigger, the better.' Some people may prefer to use Juneteenth as a day of reflection, education and remembrance. That could include going to a museum, some of which are hosting special programs for the holiday on Black American history. The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tenn., is marking Juneteenth with free admission and educational activities for families. This year, many Juneteenth events have been scaled back or canceled because companies and local governments are cutting funding for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. You can honor Juneteenth even if you are not Black, Karida Brown, a sociology professor at Emory University, told the Associated Press. Brown explained that the history of slavery in America is all of our history, and it's important to recognize 'the good, the bad, the ugly, the story of emancipation and freedom for your Black brothers and sisters under the Constitution of the law.' However, Moore wrote in the Arizona Republic that it's important not to let Juneteenth go the way of holidays like Cinco de Mayo, in which cultures are reduced to harmful stereotypes. He's afraid Black culture can be 'warped beyond recognition' during disrespectful celebrations. 'There shouldn't be any blackface or watermelon jokes,' he said. While red, green and black are colors associated with Juneteenth — those are the colors of the pan-African flag, which represents the African diaspora and the unity of Black people — the Juneteenth flag is red, white and blue. It was created in 1997 by community organizer and activist Ben 'Boston Ben' Haith in order to give the holiday a unifying symbol. 'For so long, our ancestors weren't considered citizens of this country,' Haith said in an interview with Capital B. 'But realistically, and technically, they were citizens. They just were deprived of being recognized as citizens. So I thought it was important that the colors portray red, white, and blue, which we see in the American flag.' The star in the center stands for two things: Texas, where Juneteenth began, and, according to Haith, the white burst around the star symbolizes a new star being born — representing a new beginning for Black Americans. The red arc below it represents a horizon, signifying progress and hope for the future. While Juneteenth is now a federal holiday, people employed in the private sector are not legally required to recognize or observe the holiday. In turn, privately owned shops, restaurants, grocery stores and other retail businesses will likely keep normal hours on the holiday unless they choose to honor the holiday in some way. Most major banks, as well as the stock market, are closed on Juneteenth. So is the post office and other federal offices. Public schools and libraries are typically closed as well.
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
With American education under threat, we have to remember where we've been
On the heels of a historic anniversary, our country is reminded of how far we've come, and how much work remains, through the lens of education. May 17th marked 71 years since the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision affirmed that education must be available and equitable to all. Yet the Department of Justice's recent removal of 1960s era safeguards to monitor school desegregation in Louisiana, and potentially other southern states, threatens the spirit of that landmark ruling. Further, education is facing other serious challenges across our country, at underfunded public schools and well-endowed colleges and universities alike. One of the greatest challenges is an attack on the very foundation of education via the ongoing threats to free thought and critical inquiry. Without these essential tenets, we weaken our collective ability to reach our full potential as individuals and as community. We run the risk of misremembering the past, not understanding our present and moving into the future without clear purpose or direction. More: Tennessee sees surge in books banned in public schools. Here's which ones and why Elementary and secondary education are at the heart of this struggle. This is where students learn about the trials and tribulations of our country—and where they learn to question, empathize and think critically, so that they can become engaged citizens as adults. When these opportunities are minimized for young people, we are all lessened. Higher education is not immune. Universities—traditionally places for open dialogue and rigorous debate—are under increasing pressure to curtail discussions on diversity and inclusion. Professors and students who challenge conventional perspectives face growing resistance. And even our most prestigious institutions are being pushed toward a simplified version of education that hesitates to confront uncomfortable truths. This moment demands reflection on who we aspire to be in the future, as well as a collective resistance to return to where we've been in the past. It's about preserving the American tradition of free inquiry and robust debate. After all, a healthy democracy relies on citizens who can think independently, engage respectfully with different viewpoints and hold leaders—and each other—accountable. Institutions like the National Civil Rights Museum play a vital role in maintaining this spirit. The Ruby Bridges Reading Festival, for example, provides children with access to important books by established and emerging authors, including many whose works are being banned elsewhere. Opinion: Tennessee can teach American exceptionalism and also end its book ban frenzy A museum Freedom Award honoree, Ruby Bridges is a civil rights activist who was the first Black student to integrate an all-white elementary school in New Orleans in 1960, when she was just six years old. Bridges was born in Mississippi in 1954, the same year the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its decision ordering the integration of public schools. The Festival, named in her honor, is a commitment to ensuring future generations understand the full story of our nation's struggles and achievements. History shows us that when education is constrained, societies become more vulnerable to division and authoritarianism. When curiosity and empathy are discouraged, the foundations of community and democracy weaken. Protecting education is a shared responsibility. It means ensuring that our schools and universities remain places of truth, inquiry and understanding. It means supporting teachers, empowering students and encouraging leaders to champion open dialogue rather than fear. Freedom starts with an educated mind. By investing in honest education, we invest in a stronger, more resilient America. The stakes are high. Together, we must choose a path of hope, unity and thoughtful engagement. Dr. Russ Wigginton is the president of the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Education is under attack in the US. We can't forget history. | Opinion
New York Times
14-05-2025
- General
- New York Times
‘A Priceless Inheritance': Preserving Memories of Black Life in Memphis
The storage space was packed with thousands upon thousands of photographs. Some were at least a century old, imprinted on glass plates. There were others on nitrate film so deteriorated it was at risk of combusting. In a blues and gospel mecca like Memphis, several faces were instantly recognizable: B.B. King, Mahalia Jackson, W.C. Handy. But much of the rest belonged to middle- and working-class Black Memphians on days when they might have most felt like stars. On display were weddings, graduations, fraternity parties and sporting events. In one photo, a group of homeowners tossed their mortgage papers into a fire, a celebration for climbing another rung on the ladder of upward mobility. For more than 40 years, this trove of work by the Hooks Brothers Studio, once the go-to photographers of Black life in a city renowned for it, had been largely hidden away. But now a painstaking process to preserve the studio's archives — possibly more than 75,000 images — has begun. It will take years to complete. Decades, most likely. Still, those invested in the visual history of the city believe it is a worthwhile endeavor with the potential to deepen Memphis's understanding of itself. 'It's a priceless inheritance,' said Andrea Herenton, who purchased the collection with her husband, Rodney, before handing it over to the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art and the National Civil Rights Museum for preservation. She added that by leaving storage, the collection would be able to 'inspire and live and breathe and teach and connect the past to the present.' Parts of the collection illustrate Memphis's proud history as the spiritual, cultural and commercial capital of the Mississippi Delta region, where rock 'n' roll was born and the blues flourished. Yet it is the quieter, more quotidian scenes that can serve as a counterbalance to the narrative of a Memphis withering in the shadow cast by the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Over time, poverty grew more entrenched; crime and violence became pervasive. Neighborhoods that once embodied prosperity and possibility for Black families were neglected. The photographs by the Hooks brothers — vividly, joyfully — show something else. 'People still found their way through tribulation,' said Russell Wigginton, the president of the National Civil Rights Museum, which is housed in the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where King was shot. 'That is the strength of this community, despite the poverty, despite the historical challenges,' Wigginton said. 'There's no party like a Memphis party. There's nothing like when people are in community here, trust me.' Henry A. Hooks Sr. and Robert B. Hooks opened their studio on Beale Street in 1907, when the area was still a bustling hub for Black residents in a segregated city, not yet a tourist destination filled with bars and gift shops. They had learned photography from James P. Newton, the first Black professional photographer in Memphis, and they had also studied painting in their youth, developing an artistic flair that informed their portraiture. Their subjects included Booker T. Washington and Robert R. Church, a real estate entrepreneur who became one of the wealthiest men in Memphis. After moving their studio to a different location, the brothers eventually handed it off to the next generation: Robert's son Robert Jr. and Henry's son Charles took over and adopted more of a documentary style. Another of Robert's sons, Benjamin, became the longtime executive director of the N.A.A.C.P. Over the years, some feared that their archive would be lost and that the artistic legacy of the Hooks brothers would have to live on through the photographs saved in dusty yearbooks and albums. That piecemeal existence might have been a testament to how treasured individual images were, but it would fail to convey their collective influence. 'It's just so unique in terms of being such a long-term visual documentation of one community, one city,' said Earnestine Jenkins, a professor of art history at the University of Memphis. For Jenkins, like many in Memphis, it also represented something deeply personal. She pulled out a photograph from 1937. It was her mother's class photo from the eighth grade, which had been taken by the Hooks brothers. 'It documents you,' she said of the collection. 'It documents your family. It documents your community. It documents your region. It documents Memphis.' Leaders at the two Memphis museums hope the public can help identify people in the archived images and offer context and stories about them. C. Rose Smith, an assistant curator of photography at the Brooks Museum, has been going to senior centers and alumni gatherings, successfully finding some people who had been photographed by the Hooks brothers. The museums have expansive ambitions for the collection, including traveling programs and new works by artists who are using the images as inspiration. The first exhibitions are scheduled to open next year at both museums. But a lot of work needs to be done first. The bulk of the collection has been moved to a dark, quiet corner of the Brooks Museum, where Smith carefully evaluates prints and negatives on film and glass plates. Smith is drawing on their training as a photographer, cataloger and image specialist for museums, and even for the Atlanta Police Department, where they handled crime scene photos. 'It's really thinking about line, shape and form,' Smith said. 'It's thinking about contrast. It's thinking about the beautification of a Black subject, and how the Hooks brothers may have even manipulated lighting to make sure they're able to render Black skin tones correctly.' Smith also looks closely at the people in the photographs — the fashion, the poses, their bearing. The images, particularly portraits, reflect how they wanted to be seen and immortalized. The project's timing has been fortuitous. Like many other regional art museums, the Brooks Museum has been trying to forge stronger relationships with a more diverse slice of the population it serves. Museums long centered their mission on preservation, a priority that is evident all the way down to the Latin roots of the word 'curate,' said Zoe Kahr, the museum's executive director. 'It was all about the object,' she said, 'and we've shifted from prioritizing the object to prioritizing the community.' That philosophical transformation has inspired art-making community events and an aspiration to some day have free admission. It also informed the design of a new facility that the museum is scheduled to move into next year. The museum's longtime home, originally constructed with Georgian marble and set in a sprawling city park, could seem like a fortress guarding its contents; the new downtown building will have public spaces as well as walls of glass that allow art to be viewed from the street. After Smith picks possible photos for the first Hooks Brothers exhibitions, they give them to Lauren Killingsworth, a collection specialist, to be digitized and recorded. She carefully lines up the images and then photographs each one with a digital camera attached to a stand. Some days, she can get through 50, maybe even 100 images. Then there are the days where it is only a handful. The immediate goal is to have images ready for next year's exhibitions. But the employees know that the preservation project could fill the rest of their professional lives. 'Thirty years!' said Smith, offering one educated estimate for how long the project could take, and noting they had recently turned 30. 'OK, we're going to be 60!' Smith was not daunted. They are a Memphis native. Photographs of their grandmother and great-aunts are in the archive. This was a chance to be part of important history, and they planned to stick with it. 'For however long this takes,' they said.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Yahoo
Tyre Nichols' mother: Verdict a ‘devastating blow'
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — RowVaughn Wells, the mother of Tyre Nichols, said Wednesday's verdict acquitting three former Memphis Police officers of state charges in her son's death was a 'devastating blow' to her family. Wells spoke at a rally for her son Wednesday afternoon as rain poured outside the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. 'What we heard was not what we wanted to hear. But was I shocked, surprised? No, I wasn't,' she said. Next step for Tyre Nichols' family: $550M civil lawsuit that could bankrupt city An out-of-town jury from Hamilton County took about eight and a half hours over two days to find Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith not guilty on all charges after a nine-day trial in Memphis. Wells praised the job done by prosecutors with the D.A.'s office, but the out-of-town jury brought in from Hamilton County in East Tennessee didn't give a 'rat's butt' about her son. 'My son was murdered. He was murdered, and three of them got off, because those jurors decided not to look at the evidence, but only to look at the fact that my son was a Black man running from the police,' she said. Sen. Brent Taylor calls out D.A. Mulroy after 'not guilty' verdicts in Tyre Nichols case Rodney Wells, Nichols' stepfather, said the verdict was not what the family expected. They had expected to retire to Chattanooga, he said, but now would not visit the city where the jurors were drawn from. 'Of 21 charges, nothing,' he said, referring to the seven charges faced by each of the three officers. He noted that officers still face sentencing in the earlier federal trial. 'We do have a little solace in our family for that reason and that reason only, that they are going to jail,' he said. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
