Inside the Legacy Experience at the National Civil Rights Museum
The $38 million expansion connects the Civil Rights Movement to the urgent issues of today and it's now open.
The $38 million expansion connects the Civil Rights Movement to the urgent issues of today and it's now open.
We got a first look at the Legacy Experience at the National Civil Rights Museum on Friday, ahead of its grand opening on May 16. I knew it was going to be good. The museum had been working on this $38 million project for years, and everything I'd heard had me counting down the days. But walking through it? It exceeded every expectation I had.
So What Exactly Is the Legacy Experience?
The Legacy Experience is housed in the building across the street from the Lorraine Motel at the extensively renovated structure that once included the boarding house connected to Dr. King's assassination. If you've visited the National Civil Rights Museum before, you know the main museum tells the story of the Civil Rights Movement through 1968. The Legacy Experience picks up right where that story leaves off and carries it all the way to today.
And that's what makes it so powerful. This isn't just history behind glass. This is now.
The boarding house still remains a key exhibit but also includes a reimagined, detailed, and interactive exhibit following the Shot That Changed America, the assassination of Dr. King, that gives you new layers of the investigation and conspiracies that followed.
Walking In: The Poor People's Campaign
From the moment you step inside, you know you're in for something different. The experience opens with a compelling introduction to the Poor People's Campaign, the movement Dr. King was building when his life was cut short. It sets the tone beautifully, grounding everything that follows in King's unfinished work and the question he posed in his final book: Where do we go from here?
The Five Pillars That Hit Close to Home
The heart of the Legacy Experience is built around five thematic galleries that explore structural inequalities Dr. King spent his final years fighting and that are still very much with us: poverty, education, housing, gender equity, and nonviolence.
I want to emphasize how important this section is. These aren't abstract historical topics. These galleries take a deep, honest look at issues happening right now with disparities in housing and education, nonviolent charges and sentencing within the criminal justice system, and gender inequity. The exhibits are detailed, interactive, and unflinching.
Black Lives Matter and Contemporary Movements
The experience also examines the power of community activism through movements that have shaped our world post-1968, including the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment, ACT UP, Occupy Wall Street, and Black Lives Matter. I need to talk about the Say Their Names gallery that is located in this room.
The exhibit honors Black people who have been killed by police brutality. Individual names appear on a screen, one at a time, giving each person their moment.. their recognition. It's a simple concept, but watching those names cycle through, each one representing a life, a family, a community forever changed is one of the most powerful things in the museum.
The exhibit also honors Tyre Nichols, and I won't sugarcoat that section is particularly difficult to view. Personal items are on display, including one of his skateboards, the camera he used to document his love of photography, and the Black Lives Matter chain that hung from his car's rearview mirror. These small, personal objects tell you so much about who he was beyond the headlines.
A Call to Action: What Do You Hope For?
The experience ends on a note that I absolutely loved. Rather than leaving you in heaviness, it turns to you and asks: What do you hope for? Visitors are invited to write their responses on a piece of paper. A simple, beautiful act that transforms you from observer to participant. After everything you've just walked through, putting your own hopes into words feels like exactly the right way to close.
Plan Your Visit
Here's what you need to know: the Legacy Experience is included with your museum admission, which is just $25 for adults. It's located in the building across the street from the Lorraine Motel, and I am not exaggerating when I say you could spend hours in there. I'd actually encourage you to do exactly that.
Between the main museum and the Legacy Experience, the National Civil Rights Museum offers one of the most comprehensive and moving experiences you'll find anywhere in the country and the fact that all of it is available for $25 is incredibly generous. We are lucky to have this anchored in Memphis.
Tickets are $22 for children 5-17, $23 for senior citizens 65+ and $23 for college students.
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