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Atlanta Civil Rights museum: Tour and preview

Atlanta's story, and its influence on worldwide human rights, comes to life in new downtown Atlanta museum
A tribute to the march on Washington greets visitors to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights during a walk-through for the new facility Tuesday, June 10, 2014, in Atlanta. The center opens in June 23 after almost 10 years of preparations and it has had powerful allies and some difficult obstacles. The NCCHR tells a story broader than the American civil rights movement, linking that movement to the international current of human rights reform that took inspiration in Atlanta. The main exhibits include: the King papers on the first floor, the second floor main entrance, open space and mural, the lunch counter, interactive TV displays, Freedom Rider Bus, and stained glass portraits of four girls killed during violence in Alabama, while the third floor showcases the global human rights footprint with intimate cone-shaped movie theaters and a villains and champions exhibit. David Tulis / AJC Special

Credit: David Tulis

Credit: David Tulis

A tribute to the march on Washington greets visitors to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights during a walk-through for the new facility Tuesday, June 10, 2014, in Atlanta. The center opens in June 23 after almost 10 years of preparations and it has had powerful allies and some difficult obstacles. The NCCHR tells a story broader than the American civil rights movement, linking that movement to the international current of human rights reform that took inspiration in Atlanta. The main exhibits include: the King papers on the first floor, the second floor main entrance, open space and mural, the lunch counter, interactive TV displays, Freedom Rider Bus, and stained glass portraits of four girls killed during violence in Alabama, while the third floor showcases the global human rights footprint with intimate cone-shaped movie theaters and a villains and champions exhibit. David Tulis / AJC Special
By Bo Emerson
June 20, 2014

On Monday, June 23, 2014 the National Center for Civil and Human Rights opens its doors, offering visitors a history of the freedom movement in this country (told from Atlanta’s perspective) and an accounting of the modern human rights activism that civil rights pioneers inspired.

The museum is in downtown Atlanta, to the east of Atlanta's Auburn Avenue District. Its immediate neighbors in the Pemberton Place tourist mecca are the World of Coke and the Georgia Aquarium. Nearby are Centennial Olympic Park and CNN Center.

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About the Author

Bo Emerson is an Atlanta native and a long-time AJC feature and news writer.

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