New interactive exhibit features narration by museum founder, the late D’Army Bailey
Memphis, TN – January 31, 2016 – Today, Comcast, the National Civil Rights Museum and community leaders are unveiling the Voices of the Civil Rights Movement exhibit. This interactive exhibit includes 155 powerful testimonials from 130 civil rights leaders and participants, and 52 historical video spotlights collected over a two-year period. This unparalleled kiosk presentation combines two media projects, “His Dream, Our Stories” and “Moments in Civil Rights History” with video narration by the late D’Army Bailey, museum founder. The purpose of the project is to raise awareness of civil rights issues and to encourage people to tell their own stories about the struggle for social justice.
The touchscreen display includes over 155 first-hand accounts of the American Civil Rights Movement by leaders, elected officials, activists, and participants that began as a 2013 online project “His Dream, Our Stories.” Sponsored by Comcast to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, the project includes interviews with U.S. Rep. John Lewis, Rev. Jesse Jackson, former U.N. ambassador Andrew Young, Rev. Joseph Lowery, Rev. C.T. Vivian and Rev. Samuel “Billy” Kyles. The project focused on the events from 1954-1968 and was extended to include accounts by everyday people who personally witnessed the effects of the Movement beyond that period.
In 2014 Comcast partnered with the Equal Justice Initiative to create 52 additional videos for the project “Moments in Civil Rights History.” These vignettes cover milestone events from 1619 to 1973 and include video narration by the late Judge D’Army Bailey.
D’Army Bailey was a civil rights activist, circuit court judge, author and film actor from Memphis who was the visionary behind the development of the Lorraine Motel into an educational site of conscience after Dr. King’s assassination and the motel’s foreclosure. His story about founding the Museum is included in the project as well as the story of the assassination of Dr. King.
Other key episodes are the bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church, the murder of Emmett Till, Brown V. Board of Education landmark decision, Little Rock Nine school desegregation and many more. The interactive videos are searchable by topics, people, time period and locations in the U.S. and abroad. Each video averages five minutes and gives contextual history of the Civil Rights Movement and its impact on contemporary America.
The exhibit is on a multi-year loan to the National Civil Rights Museum and is included with admission.
About the National Civil Rights Museum
The NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM, located at the historic Lorraine Motel where civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, is the only Museum of its kind in the country that gives a comprehensive overview of the American Civil Rights Movement from 1619 to the present. The Museum is intended to bring the movement to life, place the events in a historical perspective and provide a focus of national remembrance. Since the Museum opened in 1991, millions of visitors from around the world have come, including more than 60,000 students annually. Recognized as a center for civil rights and social change, the Museum is steadfast in its mission to share the culture and lessons from the Movement and explore how this significant era continues to shape equality and freedom globally.
Through interactive exhibits, historic collections, storytelling, dynamic speakers and events, the museum offers visitors a chance to walk through history and learn more about a tumultuous and inspiring period of change. Then, invites you to Join the Movement, take a stand and share your voice on issues that impact our society.
About the Comcast Corporation
COMCAST CORPORATION (Nasdaq: CMCSA) is a global media and technology company with two primary businesses, Comcast Cable and NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is one of the nation’s largest video, high-speed Internet and phone providers to residential customers under the XFINITY brand and also provides these services to businesses. NBCUniversal operates news, entertainment and sports cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, television production operations, television station groups, Universal Pictures and Universal Parks and Resorts.
About the Equal Justice Initiative
The EQUAL JUSTICE INITIATIVE is a private, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that provides legal representation to indigent defendants and prisoners who have been denied fair and just treatment in the legal system. They litigate on behalf of condemned prisoners, juvenile offenders, people wrongly convicted or charged with violent crimes, poor people denied effective representation, and others whose trials are marked by racial bias or prosecutorial misconduct. EJI works with communities that have been marginalized by poverty and discouraged by unequal treatment.
