Civil Rights Exhibit Displayed at Central Library

posted May 21, 2015 – 2:46pm

Wisconsin Historical Society exhibit showcases the 1964 Freedom Summer Project

The Wisconsin Historical Society is showcasing a special Civil Rights exhibit for students, displayed in Central Library's Madison Room (third floor) - Monday, May 18 - Thursday, May 28.

The exhibit - containing photos, narrative text, and facsimiles of historical documents - tells the story of 1964 Freedom Summer Project, when the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) challenged segregation in the state of Mississippi and, joined by more than 60,000 black Mississippians who risked everything to join them, attempted to establish a new political party.

These panels complement the book Risking Everything: A Freedom Summer Reader, edited by Michael Edmonds from materials collected by the Wisconsin Historical Society.

For more information about the 1964 Freedom Summer Project, check out the Historical Society's archive page.

Also, on the final day of the exhibit - May 28, 6:00-8:00 pm, Central Library - join Bubbler Artist-in-Residence Rain Wilson for a celebratory event, and the unveiling of a new collaborative mural - the result of a series of Art Ignite Community Workshops, held throughout May, exhibiting a collage of words, poetry, images and expression, in what is, effectively, an expansive dialog regarding issues of social justice and oppression in our community.

For more information on this event, go to Madison Public Library's Check it Out page.