The National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta is reopening after four years of construction. City leaders and donors gathered Tuesday for a ribbon-cutting celebrating the $57 million expansion.
Museum president Jill Savitt said it’s reopening at a critical time.
“Our goal is to help visitors grapple with America’s past with the kind of introspection and critical thinking that self-government requires,” she said. “And to remind everyone that history is not a finished story we inherit. It is ours also to write.”
The additions to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights include two wings, six galleries, three classrooms, and a terrace. In total, the museum added 24,000 square feet, nearly doubling in size.
Speakers included former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, Home Depot co-founder and philanthropist Arthur M. Blank, and Bernice King, daughter of Martin Luther King Jr.
King said the exhibits remind her that her father’s words still have work to do.
“They speak urgently to our time, a time of rising authoritarianism, fractured democracy, and communities under siege,” King said. “My father’s words always remind us that we are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.”
The expansion includes two new named centers: The Shirley Clarke Franklin Pavilion and the Arthur M. Blank Inspiration Hall.
Blank said the updates to the center make it a better environment for children to learn about human rights history.
“Kids are a third of our population and 100% of our future,” he said. “So the ability for the children to come into this space and understand the importance of the history and the learnings of civil rights and human rights is never more important than it is today.”
The center reopens to the public Saturday, Nov. 8. Visitors can reserve tickets in advance and explore the galleries through free tours.