New Exhibit Commemorating 51st Anniversary of Civil Rights Movement in Tennessee
We are pleased to host We Shall Not be Moved: 51st Anniversary of Tennessee’s Civil Rights Sit-Ins. The exhibit looks at the role that Tennessee students played in shaping the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. The exhibit puts these important “foot soldiers” in their rightful place in history through powerful photographs, artifacts, and an exciting eight-minute film from the sit-ins. This traveling exhibit is from the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville and will run from June 9- July 20.
During the 1950s and 1960s, African Americans began mobilizing in a massive movement against segregation. This included non-violent, direct action campaigns, which culminated in sit-in demonstrations, economic boycotts, and marches.
Fifty-one years ago, a handful of Nashville college students from Fisk University, Tennessee A&I (Later Tennessee State), and American Baptist Theological Seminary along with religious leaders Kelly Miller Smith and James Lawson, began a sit-in campaign targeting downtown lunch counters. These actions sparked the formation of a mass sit-in movement, which became the model used across Tennessee and the rest of the South.
It was these sit-ins and other non-violent actions that served as an example and catalyst for the rest of the Movement and helped usher in a season of social change that led to the desegregation of the South.
In addition to the exhibit, the Museum will be co-hosting a series of education programs to enhance learning throughout the exhibit. These education programs are co-sponsored with the NAACP of Bradley County and the 100 Black Men of Bradley County, Inc.
The program schedule:
Freedom Riders Documentary
June 14, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.
Come watch this two-hour documentary by PBS about the six months in 1961 that changed America forever when more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives by traveling together on buses and trains as they journeyed through the Deep South. Following the documentary there will be a Q&A session led by Dr. Bryan Reed of Cleveland State Community College. This event is free of charge. The museum will be open at 6:00 p.m. for those wishing to view the exhibit at regular admission costs.
We Shall Not be Moved: Cleveland Experiences Integration
June 21, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.
This will be a moving night of oral history by those who integrated Cleveland’s restaurants and public places in the early 1960s. All are invited to share their stories during this free evening of sharing and remembering. The museum will be open at 6:00 p.m. for those wishing to view the exhibit at regular admission costs.
To learn more about these programs or the exhibit please call the Museum at 339-5745 and ask for Tracy.
In the aftermath of the tornadoes there are so many needs to be met it’s hard to know where to start. Our community has done an amazing job of pitching in, and though there’s so much to do there are many willing hands and hearts.
Come and learn the basics of watercolor painting with local art instructor Aloha Buffington! Children grades 4-8 are invited to participate in this wonderful beginner class on May 14th from 1-3 pm.
Remember when summers were long stretches of unscheduled time? What better use of that time than to explore your creativity!
Each day we visit with a different artist, either at their studio space or at the museum, to learn about their work. The students get to see the artists artwork, learn how they do what they do, and ask questions. When we return to the museum center, students spend the afternoon creating a work of art using the skills and techniques they’ve studied at the studio. Past artists and projects have included Josh Coleman’s sculpture studio at The Old Woolen Mill, potter Michael Lalone and the Lee University pottery studio, architect Doug Caywood and the historic buildings of downtown Cleveland and more.
Dan Lutts
Lisa
Jennifer
rebeccarmiller
