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Exhibition Reviews
Edward T. Linenthal and Kym S. Rice
Contributing Editors
Introduction
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The contributing editors encourage readers to suggest representations of history in American public culture that might be reviewed. In addition to continuing coverage of museum exhibitions, they are interested in covering living history projects, historical pageants and reenactments, memorials, historic preservation projects, and virtual museums. Please contact:
| Edward T. Linenthal |
Kym S. Rice |
| Department of Religious Studies |
Museum Studies Program |
| University of Wisconsin |
George Washington University |
| Oshkosh, WI 54901 |
2035 F St., NW |
| <etl@uwosh.edu> |
Washington, DC 20052 |
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<kym@gwu.edu> |
We would like to thank the American Association for State and Local History for providing information on the work of its members.
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Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site, 450 Auburn Ave. NE, Atlanta, GA 30312.
Permanent exhibition, opened 1980. M–Su 9–6 in summer, M–Su 9–5 the rest of the year, closed Jan. 1, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day; admission free. 39 acres. National Park Service.
Internet: general information on site and museums <http://www.nps.gov/malu/> (April 2, 2004).
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, 520 Sixteenth St. North, Birmingham, AL 35203.
Permanent exhibition, opened 1992. Tu–Sa 10–5, Su 1–5, closed major holidays; Tu–Sa adults $8, seniors $5, college students $4, children 17 and under free; admission free Sundays and Martin Luther King Jr. Day; school groups free. 58,000 sq. ft. Joseph A. Wetzel and Associates, Boston, architects.
Internet: information, maps, and gallery guides <http://www.bcri.org/index.html> (April 2, 2004).
National Civil Rights Museum, 450 Mulberry St., Memphis, TN 38103.
Permanent exhibition, opened 1991. M, W–Sa 9–5, Su 1–5; adults $10, seniors (55+) $8, children (4–17) $6.50, children 3 and under free, members free; admission free Mondays after 3. 40,000 sq. ft. Beverly Robertson, executive director.
Internet: information, maps, and gallery guides <http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org> (April 2, 2004).
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Over the past decade, civil rights museums have been opening across
the American South. Three of the most significant institutions are
the Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site in Atlanta, Georgia,
the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute in Alabama, and the National
Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. Each of the museums strives
to convey the struggles and achievements of the African American
quest for fundamental legal rights in modern America with dignity
and pride. And each labors mightily to develop an honest presentation
of both white supremacist brutality and black people's courage in
the face of adversity, a visual and intellectual middle ground that
avoids the pitfalls of displaying only hatemongering, victimization,
or romantic heroism. Though richly diverse in location and structure,
they are truly flagship exhibitions that present civil rights history
to a new generation of American museum goers, especially to black
families participating in the emerging field of African American
heritage tourism.
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