Civil rights center at Alabama State University steps back in time
National Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African-American Culture interactive exhibit at ASU.
I always wanted to step back in time.
That is what I felt like walking into the National Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African-American Culture interactive exhibit at Alabama State University in Montgomery. Dr. Howard Robinson is the archivist.
“I think the modern civil rights movement, and the students who participated in it, allowed this nation to approach the idea of liberty, justice and equality more completely, and more significantly,” Robinson said.
“We have a twofold mission: to be a central institution for information about civil rights in Montgomery, and to preserve and distribute this information about the social, economic and political culture of African-Americans.”
Civil rights center at Alabama State University steps back in time from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
The center focuses on the study of events in the Montgomery area, which was the cradle for the Confederacy and the civil rights movement. Through exhibiting artifacts, cultural documents and memorabilia, the center fosters learning, teaching and research at the university.
When Robinson walked me into the interactive exhibit, I found myself surrounded by digital and photographic displays commemorating the heroes of Alabama State University who had a role in the movement.
“The center is a cultural learning place. The first floor has six exhibit areas, and throughout them we look at the role that ASU faculty, staff and alumni played in the modern civil rights movement. We explore the different aspects of their involvement and the legacy they left behind,” Robinson said.
The center helps preserve and document the black history of Montgomery and ASU, passes that knowledge to students, and serves as a research center for civil rights information. Robinson also hopes the center will not operate as a sole entity, but cooperate with other archival projects like the Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail and others.
“We look at the students who participated in the major episodes of the civil rights movement from 1955, during the first bus boycotts,” Robinson said. “They ran errands, made flyers and helped transport people. They studied at the feet of the big civil rights activists. They were able to ask leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King questions, and participate in the nonviolent seminars.”
For Robinson and other leaders of Alabama State University, the National Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African-American Culture serves as a daily reminder that the struggle for human equality will never stop.
“I do this because the university has an interest in understanding its past, and to be able to refer to that past in order to inform its future. We have to understand the difficulties that the university had to overcome in order to propel it into the 21st century,” Robinson said. “It’s also important to have a good grasp of the institutional memory so that our students today could understand their place in the American experience.”
If you step back in time and visit the center at Alabama State University, just remember the year is 2016.
Alabama Bright Lights captures the stories, through words, pictures and video, of some of our state’s brightest lights who are working to make Alabama an even better place to live, work and play. Award-winning photojournalist Karim Shamsi-Basha tells their inspiring stories. Email him comments, as well as suggestions on people to profile, at karimshamsibasha@gmail.com.
