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The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is Birmingham's gift to the world and a symbol of how the city has reconciled its past with a vision for the future. Most importantly, the Institute shows the city's pride in its history and its dedication to progress and unity.
The Institute opened in November, 1992, to a record-breaking number of visitors, 25,000 during the first week of operation. More than 575,000 people from all over the United States and around the world have toured this outstanding testimony to a people's struggle for equal rights.
Visitors to the Institute take a walking journey through the "living institution" which views the lessons of the past as a positive way to chart new directions for the future. The permanent exhibitions are a self-directed journey through the Birmingham Civil Rights Movement and human rights struggles. Multi-media exhibitions focus on the history of African American life and the struggle for civil rights.
Visitors experience for themselves the drama of the courageous story as it is told in the galleries. They walk through exciting exhibitions from the era of segregation to the Movement and all of the historic events that took place in Birmingham.
The Institute's programs and services are designed to promote research, provide information and encourage discussion on human rights issues locally, nationally and internationally. A public policy conference is held annually focusing on civil and human rights.
The archives of the Institute serve as a national resource for educators and researchers and are a repository for the collection and preservation of civil rights documents and artifacts. The archival information system is computer linked to the Birmingham Public Library and is a vital component of the Archives Division.
The Oral History Project documents Birmingham's role in the Civil Rights Movement through the voices of movement participants. To date, over 170 people have been interviewed.
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is also a community resource for meetings, seminars and workshops. A Community Meeting Room is available to organizations.
Educational Programing
The individuals responsible for planning the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute were visionaries. They saw the facility as something more than just a museum—it was intended to be a place of higher learning, scholarship and research. They knew that once the facility opened and the local community had an opportunity to view it, a vehicle would need to be in place to keep the community connected and coming back to the Institute. The Education Division is a major component of that vehicle.
The Division is charged with the responsibility of developing curriculum materials, scheduling special exhibitions and developing public and special programs In all of these areas, the staff is fortunate to work in a community where the people have embraced the facility. For the most part, the community understands its purpose and wants to be involved in what happens in it.
The role of museum education is to:
Public programs offered by the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute provide instruction and enrichment. Programming includes special exhibitions and educational activities geared to different levels and ages. A varied program schedule includes gallery talks, slide lectures, art classes, audio-visual displays publications and films.
Special exhibitions attract larger and more diverse audiences and stimulate participation in other aspects of our facility's program. Generally the exhibitions complement our permanent collection or introduce new material to the public. How it contributes to our knowledge is a major factor in justifying an exhibit's selection and presentation. Programs are responsive to the needs of widely different audiences.
The Institute is open to individual exploration and every experience in our facility is an opportunity for visitors to gain new insight into the struggles encountered by many groups of people.
Image 2: Visitors describe the exhibits as an emotional journey through time.
The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute is the centerpiece of the Civil Rights District which includes the historic Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, Kelly Ingram Park, Fourth Avenue Business District, and the Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame located in the remodeled Carver Theater.
Patrons have expressed wonder and awe after an emotional journey through time. All voice the positiveness of the exhibitions and are amazed with all of the historical information and the dignity of the presentations.
Image 1: Entrance to the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.
| « The National Civil Rights Museum
| Smith Robertson Museum » |