Community Input Sought for Civil Rights History Exhibit

The Columbus Museum is preparing for a temporary exhibition featuring the history of the Civil Rights Movement and Civil Rights activism in the Chattahoochee Valley. An advisory group of nearly 30 people has been meeting monthly to play a key role in shaping exhibit themes and content, as well as associated programming. Goals of the exhibition, which will open in January 2022 and be on view through the early fall of 2022, are:

•To tell a fuller story of the Civil Rights Movement in Columbus and the tri-city area

•To spotlight how local leaders and activists were part of a larger movement in the Deep South

•To provide first-hand historical accounts by building relationships and utilizing existing and new oral histories with Civil Rights activists

•To offer opportunities for community dialogue about civil and human rights today

To best serve our region in telling these stories, the input of community members is essential. The Museum is looking for people who would like to contribute to this project by:

•Loaning historic objects/images or sharing high-resolution digital scans of photos

•Participating in oral histories as an interviewee or interviewer (simple training provided!)

•Developing community programming and events

•Spreading the word and encouraging others to get involved

Too often the history of the Civil Rights Movement in the Chattahoochee Valley has been downplayed or mischaracterized as “quiet.” It is our hope that together we can share this important history that should be remembered.

U.S. Army Signal Corps, Fort Benning officials discussing race relations with Social-Civic-25 Club

ca. 1943, The General Acquisitions Fund, The Columbus Museum G.2020.16

To share historic objects or images or participate in oral history interviews, contact: Rebecca Bush, Curator of History/Exhibitions Manager, at rbush@columbusmuseum.com by September 30.

To be involved in developing programming, contact: Lucy Kacir, Director of Education & Engagement, or Imani Jones-Pugh, Community Outreach Coordinator, at edu@columbusmuseum.com.

List of contributors for Primus King court case compiled by Dr. Thomas Brewer

1945, Gift of Judith Grant, The Columbus Museum G.2016.9.2

Cover Image: Alex Persons, Columbus protesters and police, 1971, Gift of a Friend of the Museum, The Columbus Museum G.2021.23