Chicago Museum of Civil Rights

The Chicago Museum of Civil Rights

By: Graeme and Austin

Welcome to the Chicago Museum of Civil Rights. During your trip inside, you will learn about the Greensboro sit-ins, Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott, the MLK assassination, freedom riders, MLK and the I Have a Dream Speech, and finally, Brown v. Board of Education. enjoy your visit!

Introduction

Room 01

Greensboro Sit-Ins

In 1960 Greensboro, NC an african american man sat in a white only diner and asked to be served. The man was denied. Many people from all races joined him in sitting every day in the diner. Eventually the restaurant was packed with people and the diner served everyone. Many other people started doing sit-ins across the country.

This is a photo of what a diner would have looked like from the time period of the sit-ins.

This is a segregation sign and it shows what it looked like from that time period

This artifact is a barstool an it shows what remains of the diner.

Room 02

Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

In 1955, Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in Montgomery, Alabama. This seeming to be a small disobedeance led to her arrest and the Mongomery bus boycott.

This artifact is the bus rosa parks was on

This photo shows what the inside of the bus looked like

This photo shows that rosa parks was arrested.

Room 03

MLK assasination

In 1968 Memphis TN, MLK was staying at a motel. He was standing on the balcony when a white man shot him. He later died in the hospital. This led to the fight for equality being stronger than ever.

This photo shows MLKś funeral

These photos show where MLK was killed and who killed him

Room 04

Freedom riders

In 1961 a group of college students started on their journey from Washington DC to New Orleans, Louisiana. These students along the way wanted to push the limits of public transportation by traveling as a biracial group and sitting together in segregated areas. These attempts to push the limits of the laws in place led to one of their buses getting bombed and police stopping them in Alabama, the group was escorted and flown to New Orleans to complete their journey. this journey led to awareness about state transportation segregation laws and they were soon gone.

Their group that traveld the route and their diversity

The adversity and hate they had to face

The route they took was not a short stroll it took weeks to complete even though they didn't go the whole way

Room 05

March on washinton and I Have a Dream speech

In 1963 Washington DC, MLK led a march on washington DC and then gave a speech. The march filled the streets with people and led to a major turning point in fighting for equality.

The amount of people who showed up to the speech and the influence that MLK had

The location that MLK picked was perfect, the heart of the USA and quite a large venue

MLK had a speech prepared on paper but he choose to do it of the top of his head making one of the most memorable speaches

Room 06

Brown V. Board of Education.

In 1954, in Topeka Alabama, Linda Brown lived just down the street from a white school. Although her location she still had to take a bus across town just to go to her black only school. This situation prompted the Brown vs Board of Education court case. This case led to the desegregation of schools. This feat was huge then being one of the biggest steps in the direction of desegregating the country.

This newspaper shows that the segregatoin was ended in school

These photos show what the segregated classrooms looked like

The team that worked on this case was very diverse showing the same thing they fought for