National Civil Rights Museum President Shares Upcoming Plans With Roland Martin

Renovated in 2014, the museum hopes to immerse visitors in the nation's history of civil rights.

The National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee, has been operating since 1991, but had major makeover on April 4, 2014, the of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.‘s assassination. Roland Martin spoke with the museum’s President Terri Lee Freeman on NewsOne onsite from Memphis and shared upcoming plans.

Martin inquired about renovations, which Freeman explained in detail.

“The story is more inclusive is the way I would describe it,” Freeman explains. “Taking it from Africans being brought to America up through King’s assassination,” Freeman said. Martin noted that the museum rests on the grounds of the Lorraine Hotel where King was assassinated in 1968, and one of the museum’s top exhibits is the very room he stayed in ahead of the tragic moment on display. Freeman told the host that the room, while replicated, is as it was on that fateful day.

Freeman continued with, “I think what we try to do right now with the museum is to make sure that people understand this history, what this museum stands for, the fight for freedom and justice but also to recognize that much of what Dr. King came here to Memphis for is in many ways yet undone.”

Freeman noted that much of what NewsOne Now provides regarding reporting on the complexities of the Black American experience is what she hopes happens as the museum continues to provide historical context and a become a hub for conversation.

Watch Roland Martin’s discussion with National Civil Rights Museum President Terri Lee Freeman, including its future plans in becoming an immersive experience for visitors, on NewsOne Now in the clip above.

Watch NewsOne Now with Roland Martin, in its new time slot on TV One.

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