The National Center for Civil and Human Rights announced a new partnership with Norfolk Southern Corporation, reinforcing a shared commitment to advancing education, human dignity, and civil rights.
According to a press release, Norfolk Southern has pledged $500,000 to support the Center’s two-wing expansion, helping to broaden its national impact as a leading cultural institution for civil and human rights education and engagement.
Norfolk Southern’s gift secures naming for the Freedom Room, one of three new classrooms in the Shirley Clarke Franklin Pavilion, the new wing on the Center’s east side.
The Center is currently closed for construction as it undergoes its 24,000-square-foot expansion, which includes new galleries, educational spaces, and interactive experiences designed to connect history to the present. This Center is scheduled to reopen this Fall with a celebratory ribbon-cutting event.
“We were founded to help people understand history’s relevance in our present time, and Norfolk Southern’s commitment allows us to bring that mission to life in meaningful new ways,” Jill Savitt, CEO of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, said in the press release. “Our partnership with Norfolk Southern ensures that the Center will be an even more powerful space for education, dialogue, and action — one that prepares people to become engaged within their communities.”
“At Norfolk Southern, we believe in the power of community, education, and advocacy,” Kristin Wong, Norfolk Southern Community Impact Director, said in the statement. “Our partnership with the National Center for Civil and Human Rights reflects that commitment. We look forward to seeing how these enhanced spaces will inspire visitors and deepen the understanding of civil rights history.”
toward justice, we must pull together,” added Savitt. “These partnerships — these commitments — are what drive our mission forward and ensure that the Center remains a powerful force for truth, transformation, and progress.”
