For immediate release | October 16, 2004
Contact: Muriel Cooper, AARP at (202) 434 2597
AARP, Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and Library of Congress
Create Civil Rights Archive
“We sat and sat. We refused to move. The manager went and got
a screwdriver and unscrewed the stools. We all fell on the floor.” — Myrna
Davis Bell, on trying to integrate Newberry’s lunch counter in Macon,
Ga.
Las Vegas — They heard stories about lives irrevocably
altered, of opportunities denied, and emotional wounds that resist healing.
And they heard about people who kept fighting for justice when the barriers
seemed insurmountable and of those who reached out to bridge society’s
divides.
For 70 days, over 12,000 miles of road, journalists captured firsthand,
untold personal accounts of civil rights struggles during the Voices of
Civil Rights Bus Tour. They recorded memories from people around the country,
including African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Asian Americans,
and people with disabilities. Nearly 200,000 people attended the tour events
in 39 cities across 22 states. The tour was part of a multifaceted project
of AARP, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR), and the Library
of Congress to build the world’s largest archive of civil rights stories.
More than 4,000 stories have been collected, through the bus tour and from
online and written contributions. All stories will be donated to the Library
of Congress’s permanent civil rights collection.
“We began this historic bus tour on Aug. 3 in Washington, D.C., to
capture and preserve part of American history,” said Rick Bowers, project
director. “We ended up with moving stories that have opened our eyes
and made us examine ourselves and our views. We thought we knew about this
era, but found out there was so much more, that civil rights and the quest
for justice touched everything that we take for granted today.”
The bus, staffed with award-winning journalists, photographers, and videographers,
traveled along much of the trail blazed by the 1961 Freedom Riders. A History
Channel crew filmed the tour for a documentary scheduled to premiere in February
2005. The tour officially concluded Oct. 16 in Las Vegas at the annual AARP
Member Event.
Voices of Civil Rights has inspired national television and radio specials,
museum exhibits, community events, and the book My Soul Looks Back in
Wonder: Voices of the Civil Rights Experience by noted journalist Juan
Williams. The project’s Web site, www.voicesofcivilrights.org,
features a searchable online archive of hundreds of personal stories.
“The rich history preserved in the individual stories collected by
Voices of Civil Rights will provide a source of inspiration for other Americans
fighting for equality, both now and in generations to come,” said LCCR
Executive Director Wade Henderson.
For immediate release | July 16, 2004
Contact: Muriel
Hairston-Cooper at 202-434-2597 or Danny
Maiello at 202-828-8899
AARP, the Leadership Conference on Civil
Rights, and the Library of Congress partner to capture and
preserve personal stories from America’s struggle
for equality
What: On August 3, Voices of Civil Rights
will launch a nationwide bus tour to collect unrecorded
memories of the civil rights era as well as stories about
the ongoing quest for freedom and justice. Ultimately, the
Library of Congress will serve as the official repository
for this historic collection.
The launch event will serve as a grand sendoff for this
unique tour and will feature speeches by civil rights
luminaries, never-before-told stories of courage and sacrifice
by those who lived history, and a moving performance of
freedom songs by the Voices of Triumph.
The event will also include an interactive display, known
as the Digital Front Porch, which allows guests attending
the event to submit oral or written civil rights stories.
This exhibit will also provide reporters with complete
access to leaders and foot soldiers from the Civil Rights
Movement.
The bus will then embark on a 35-city, 70-day tour around
the country, in which ordinary people will share their
extraordinary stories about their memories of the civil
rights era.
Who: Attendees include AARP President
Marie Smith, LCCR Executive Director Wade Henderson, Deputy
Librarian of Congress General Donald L. Scott, President
and Executive Director of National Council of La Raza Raúl
Yzaguirre, and the Voices of Triumph, as well as civil rights
leaders and a broad spectrum of individuals engaged in the
ongoing Civil Rights Movement. WJLA-TV’s Maureen Bunyan
will emcee the launch.
When: Tuesday, August 3, 2004 at 11 a.m.
Where: National Mall on 3rd St. between
Madison and Jefferson Avenues
Why: Capturing these memories helps preserve
an American legacy. Through the Voices of Civil Rights,
Americans of all backgrounds and walks of life can better
understand the journey towards equality.
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