The June opening of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in downtown Atlanta marks the next step in our city’s remarkable development. We are stewards of a legacy of international importance. As a city that continues to honor achievements in civil and human rights, Atlanta joins a handful of distinguished American cities, like Philadelphia and Boston, which attract millions yearly to visit Revolutionary War sites and museums. The Center marks the next step in Atlanta’s global prominence.
The Center has been designed to connect each visitor to authentic civil and human rights stories. Sitting at a segregated lunch counter, you can experience the brave fight for equality. By virtually standing face-to-face with human rights champions, you will be inspired by their triumphant and heroic stories. The Center will also be the only place you can see the Morehouse College Martin Luther King Jr. Collection, withmore than ten thousand items including handwritten notes, speeches, manuscripts, sermons and other writings of historical significance.
The Center will also help Atlanta attract conferences, meetings and events around issues of civil and human rights. The International Women’s Forum and Nobel Peace Laureates global summit are already headed to Atlanta. Both will hold events in our facility. A new institution like the Center creates a powerful incentive for groups to meet in Atlanta for the first time or again after many years.
The Center’s physical location on Pemberton Place, next to the World of Coca-Cola and the Georgia Aquarium, will create a “front door” for visitors to understand Atlanta’s unique standing in the world. Connect with the array of destinations in Atlanta by riding the streetcar to the Martin Luther King Jr. Historic District, then venture a bit further to the Carter Presidential Library, then spend another day visiting the Atlanta History Center, Atlanta University Center and Breman Jewish Museum. Together, these individual treasures become a holistic historical offering to regional and national visitors.
The Center, in combination with the soon-to-open College Football Hall of Fame, will also expand the attractiveness of a multi-day tourist visit to Atlanta. With so many attractions within a small radius (including CNN Center, SkyView Atlanta and Imagine It Children’s Museum), most any group or family will have at least four venues worth their visit. That leads to more meals, room nights and overall economic activity.
Most importantly, the National Center for Civil and Human Rights represents a new era in the discussion of human rights in the United States.
As a singular, physical focal point for exhibitions and discussions of human rights, the Center will forge unique partnerships, offer groundbreaking programs and attract world-class artists, writers and activists to Atlanta to create, host and participate in events and exhibitions. The Center represents Atlanta’s opportunity to once again become a platform for national and global engagement on a wide array of rights issues.
Doug Shipman is CEO of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights.
