National Civil Rights Museum with Terri Lee Freeman
Host Jeremy C. Park talks with Terri Lee Freeman, President of the National Civil Rights Museum, who shares important historical and current perspective on racism and the protests that are taking place in Memphis, across the United States of America, and around the world. It’s a candid interview that offers suggestions and practical advice, guidance to resources, and some words of encouragement for moving forward together with greater respect, understanding, support and love.
Terri Lee Freeman says “the mission of the museum is several fold. We want to make sure that we are promoting the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King. We want to make sure that we are chronicling the stories and the history of the American Civil Rights Movement, but we also want to make sure that we are talking about the continuation of the struggles that take place in the realm of civil and human rights.”
- National Civil Rights Museum – Presenting the Facts.
- “We present the true story. We’re going to give you the facts. We’re going to give you what actually happened. To not want to accept that fact, those realities? Well, that’s on individuals. That’snot on the museum, but the museum presents the true story of Africans being stolen from Africa, brought to this country enslaved and the beginning, frankly, of a movement of resistance to always fight for freedom, to always fight for equality, to always fight for equity.”
- Look back historically, positives that came out of the protest then and what was going on?
- “One of the positives that I’ve been thinking about is just that there is a higher level of awareness of the issues that African Americans face on a daily basis between the moment they wake up in the morning and the time they go to bed at night. And accept that experience as truth. Just because you don’t experience it doesn’t mean that it’s not true. So that’s one thing. I hope that we get some changes to policing. I hope that we will have policing that truly is involved with the community. I’m not an expert on policing, policing tactics. but I think that when you work with people as opposed to working to control people, that you generally get a better outcome.”
- What to say, how to say it, how to not be tone deaf, how to use their skills for good.
- “You hear something that’s inappropriate, and you know it’s inappropriate, you have to say something. The second thing is what’s your circle look like? And there’s nothing wrong with people wanting to be around like people. But what that means is that you have to accept that there are other people who are not necessarily like you and that just because they aren’t like you doesn’t mean that they’re less than you. Third thing I would say is, don’t believe everything you see on TV and read in the paper, or certainly not everything that you read on social media. Get to know somebody. “
Learn more: http://www.civilrightsmuseum.org