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The National Center for Civil and Human Rights Launches New King Exhibition and Celebrates Juneteenth

Staff Report

Tuesday, June 7th, 2022

The National Center for Civil and Human Rights (The Center) will celebrate Juneteenth 2022 with a weekend of programming for the entire family Saturday, June 18 and Sunday, June 19. The Center will also launch its first new exhibit of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Voice to the Voiceless Gallery in over two years featuring A Legacy of Creative Protest: King & Youth Activism on Saturday, June 18.  

The exhibit explores how a generation of youth activists in the 1960s inspired Dr. King’s campaign for equality and helped transform political landscapes from the Civil Rights era to present-day through innovative means of protest. Through their innovation, young organizers galvanized the movement, emboldening Dr. King to adopt new and creative ways of protesting to reach and grow a national audience. 

 Lance Wheeler, Director of Exhibitions at The Center expressed what he hoped visitors will take away from this exhibit. “Dr. King and his nonviolent resistance became central to the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Yet, he was energized by the resistance of young people across the country, notably the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Greensboro, NC to continue the march towards justice. As much as he inspired these young people, he too was stirred by their work and commitment to justice.” 

The Center will also celebrate the Juneteenth holiday with a host of family programs Saturday, June 18 and Sunday, June 19. All activities are included in the price of general admission. Guests are encouraged to purchase their tickets online, in advance. A list of programming is below and on The Center’s website at 

https://www.civilandhumanrights.org/juneteenth/. 

  • Music curated by DJ Sed the Saint to pay homage to the day of Jubilee 

  • Immersive theatre performance of Got So Far to Go—a piece that outlines the successes of emancipation and the Civil Rights movement  

  • Craft tables and activations for young learners, and much more! 

“Juneteenth is a portmanteau of the words ‘June’ and ‘nineteenth’ which marks the date, June 19, 1865, that enslaved people in Galveston, Texas learned they were free - just under two-and-a-half years after Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation,” said Nicole Moore, Director of Education for The Center. “The Center celebrates this moment of liberation by sharing more about the history of Juneteenth to show its significance as a national holiday and to spread the jubilee of occasion.”

For more information about A Legacy of Creative Protest: King & Youth Activism, visit The Center’s website here: https://www.civilandhumanrights.org/exhibition/mlk-collection/. To learn more about The Center’s Juneteenth celebration, visit this link https://www.civilandhumanrights.org/juneteenth/.