The Civil Rights Center Experience in Review

On March 2nd of this year I embarked on a journey to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights with a group of my classmates, and was immersed in an experience which left me at times inspired, at times amazed, and at other times near tears. The exhibit was clearly designed by people intensely passionate about the history, legacy, and preservation of the spirit of Civil and Human Rights and who were dedicated to creating a comprehensive and immersive experience for all visitors. The opening of the exhibit was inspired in its ability to transport the audience into the Civil Rights era, immediately splitting up the hallway into sides of blacks and whites only, followed by a room literally stacked with televisions broadcasting the actual television programs where pro segregation rhetoric was put out. It was an area of sound and fury, full of the noises and experiences of the Civil Rights era, including a simulation of what it was like to be at a sit-in.

This thunderous sound was followed all too closely by profound silence, and reflection. The sections which brought me to tears were the many children and activists who senselessly lost their lives during the movement, from the four little girls to Emmett Till to the many faceless and unnamed activists who died in the struggle for equality and justice in this nation.

Even more powerfully, I wasn’t hit with sadness and sent home. I was not reassured that the movement succeeded and sent on my merry way either. I was given ways to reflect on how the fight for Civil Rights had come very far, but was far from over. I was encouraged to take responsibility for making sure that I did my part to be, in as many ways as I could, an ethical and good human being. For that, the Civil Rights Center is doing its job; creating a world of people more aflame for the good of others, and passionate about making sure that everyone everywhere is shown human dignity.