ATLANTA — The National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta reopened on Tuesday after a $58 million renovation and expansion, featuring new wings named after Home Depot co-founder and philanthropist Arthur Blank and former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.
The extensive renovation of the center includes two new wings and updated exhibits designed to engage younger audiences.
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Channel 2’s Lori Wilson was there as Blank, Franklin, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and more cut the ribbon at the museum on Tuesday.
Blank, a major museum benefactor, said he hopes young people visit the new exhibits and family spaces in the center and see themselves as agents of change.
“Presenting civil and human rights in a way that younger kids can now relate to it, and in a way that they can grow and understand,” Blank said.
Dr. Bernice King, the first guest curator of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. exhibit, expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to share more than just the civil rights aspect of her father’s legacy.
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Franklin, who the other new wing is named after, was mayor when the idea for the center was first conceived.
“Atlanta is the right place. We have a tremendous history of human rights and civil rights, and thank goodness for [civil rights activist] Evelyn Lowery and [Ambassador] Andrew Young for inspiring me and so many others for its development,” she said.
The center will officially open to the public on Saturday, offering new opportunities for visitors to engage with its expanded offerings.
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