If you’ve ever wondered what role the people of Nutmeg State played in ending segregation in America, you can now learn a lot about it in the Connecticut Historical Society exhibit, Connecticut Freedom Workers: Remembering the Civil Rights Movement. ”
On display alongside another that chronicles the 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches, the exhibition was launched after the events of summer 2020 forced a reflection on the struggle for equality more than 50 years earlier. Museum directors tracked down local activists to see what their struggle was like.
“We interviewed some older people who were young and we listened to the conversation in the hair salon and were inspired to work for better society. We researched the newspapers to find out who was active during that period and then called people, ”says exhibition director Ben Gammell.
The exhibit houses memorabilia from Connecticut locals such as William J. Brown, the first leader of the Urban League of Greater Hartford. The shoes he wore to the March on Washington and other civil rights protests are on display.
Visitors can learn more about Mardon Walker, a white Connecticut college student who spent a semester at Spelman College in Atlanta and was arrested and jailed for participating in a sit-in. She would appeal her sentence to the Supreme Court. Evidence from her legal battle as well as letters that she received during her fight are part of the exhibition.
The Connecticut Freedom Workers exhibit runs through October 16.
Freedom Journey 1965 runs through August 28th.
You can learn more about the Connecticut Historical Society here:
https://chs.org/ausstellung/
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