National Civil Rights Museum

✨ The National Civil Rights Museum proudly celebrates the 35th Freedom Award, honoring extraordinary leaders whose courage, vision, and impact continue to move us closer to justice and equality.

Join us as we recognize this year’s honorees: civil rights attorney Fred D. Gray; President & CEO of the National Council of Negro Women, Shavon Arline-Bradley; attorney, author, and political commentator Bakari Sellers; and WNBA Champion and advocate Nneka Ogwumike.

Be part of this unforgettable ceremony on October 1 at the Orpheum Theatre.

🎟️ Tickets & sponsorships are now available at freedomaward.org

Meet Jaylen Hunter, host of this year’s Freedom Award Student Forum!

The Memphis native and rising actor made his major Hollywood debut as young Marlon Jackson in the 2026 biopic Michael. Jaylen will help welcome students in grades 5–12 to an inspiring program that connects young people with civil and human rights leaders.

Educators and youth leaders: register your student groups for the in-person experience or the national livestream at https://civilrightsmuseum.org/freedom-award/student-forum/

We remember the late Clara Jean Ester, a native Memphian, LeMoyne-Owen College alumna, United Methodist deaconess, civil rights advocate, community organizer, and servant leader whose life was rooted in faith, love, justice, and service.

With details shared by her family, we honor Clara’s decades of ministry, activism, and community leadership, including her service as former international vice president of United Methodist Women, now United Women in Faith. Mentored by Dr. James Lawson, Clara became active in the 1968 Memphis Sanitation Workers’ Strike while a junior at LeMoyne-Owen College, organizing rallies and attending strike meetings.

On April 4, 1968, Clara was present on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was fatally shot. She later reflected that witnessing his death deepened her commitment to love and nonviolence.

This episode of Imagine an America was recorded on April 4, 2026, three months before Clara’s passing, when Clara spoke at the National Civil Rights Museum’s observance and visited the balcony for the first time since Dr. King’s assassination.

Listen as Clara shares the powerful details of that historic day and reflects on her enduring legacy of courage and service.

Listen and subscribe to Imagine an America today.

35 years of history. $3.50 off your visit 🎉

This September, the National Civil Rights Museum celebrates 35 years of preserving history, sharing stories, and inspiring action— and we’re celebrating all month long with you.

We’re kicking things off for 901Day with a special offer for our hometown. 💙 Click the link below to receive $3.50 off Museum admission for a limited time. Discount automatically applied at checkout.

Because for 35 years, Memphis hasn’t just been where we are. It’s part of who we are.

📍 National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel
⏰ Expires 9/30/26
🎟️ code applied at checkout: https://visit.civilrightsmuseum.org/?promo=901day

Walk-in visitors can receive the discount by saying "Happy Birthday" at admissions.

And stay tuned— with more offers and anniversary moments to reflect on 35 years at NCRM as history moves us forward!

in 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech before more than 250,000 people at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

The demonstration helped press President John F. Kennedy and government leaders to pass the Civil Rights Act, which banned segregation in public spaces and employment discrimination.

Signed the following year, the act marked a major step forward. United by a shared purpose, persistence can still change the story.

in 1920, Congress certified the 19th Amendment, securing women’s right to vote. Though separated by decades, the suffrage movement and the Civil Rights Movement shared a common fight for basic rights denied to many Americans.

African Americans continued to battle for voting rights until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 — and even today, efforts to suppress the vote persist.

📸 courtesy of League of Women Voters