National Civil Rights Museum

For more than two decades, the National Civil Rights Museum has stood at the site of the Lorraine Motel, where civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968. 200,000 visitors each year are inspired by the story of the courageous men, women, and children who fought for equality during the Civil Rights Movement. On April 5, 2014, this Memphis, TN landmark was reopened to the public after an extensive renovation. The newly transformed museum is the result of years of planning and construction, and, according to the New York Times, “is now among the best we can find, setting a standard for museums exploring civil rights.”

Second Story worked with Howard+Revis Design Services and the museum’s leadership team to create a collection of films and interactive experiences which add a new dimension to the museum’s story of the culture of resistance. Two animated short films in the Slavery gallery help to set the stage and foreshadow the monumental civil rights battle of the mid-20th century. Three interactive experiences focusing on school desegregation, sit-ins and direct actions, and the divergent philosophies of civil rights leaders in the late 1960s add new ways for visitors to make a personal connection with the history of the Civil Rights Movement.