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July 1939: An African-American man drinking at a segregated drinking fountain in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. (Photo by Russell Lee/Library Of Congress/Getty Images)
“This exhibition will provide visitors with valuable insights into the difficult circumstances faced by African Americans in the post-slavery era as the nation struggled to make emancipation and true equality a reality,” said Mary Pat Higgins, museum president and CEO.
“I believe this exhibition will help anchor the ongoing civil rights conversation in the minds and hearts of our visitors as they take what they learn from the Museum out into the world.”
Focusing on the years after 1868, when slavery was abolished, will help illustrate the struggles Black Americans faced to create a truly interracial democracy. As some of the same fights continue today, a deeper look into the history of the battle for a “separate but equal” country hopes to further a conversation about how to use the past to prepare for the future. Earlier this year, the Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum welcomed the “Grandmother of Juneteenth,” Opal Lee, to speak on the intersection between Black American history and the state of Texas. The event, held during Black History Month, also allowed Lee to discuss the ongoing issue of food deserts in predominately Black neighborhoods, especially in the Dallas- Fort Worth area.
The museum also offers annual free admission to all visitors in observance of Juneteenth.
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Source: Black Enterprise
