CIVIL RIGHTS EXHIBITION AT FDR PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY

Visitors learn the history of the Civil Rights movement in early 20th Century America, spearheaded by FDR and his wife, Eleanor.

When elected to the Presidency in 1932, Franklin Delano Roosevelt vowed to help the poor and impoverished caught up in the worldwide financial collapse. Among those severely affected were Black Americans, who also endured segregation and Jim Crow laws designed to keep them relegated to the outskirts of society.

William Harris, FDR Presidential Library & Museum Director, joined by Library Trustee Basil Smikle, PhD, as they introduce the historic site”™s newest exhibit in Hyde Park on June 3. Photo credit: Kathy Kahn.

On June 3, the FDR Library and Museum in Hyde Park formally opened “Black Americans, Civil Rights and The Roosevelts, 1932-1962.” Developed in collaboration with a distinguished committee of scholars, the extensive collection of memorabilia and interactive displays assembled for the exhibit includes documents, photos, newsreels and artifacts ”” many on display for the first time ”” from the Roosevelt Library”™s rich holdings and from private collections nationwide. The materials on display catalog the unrelenting efforts of many during the early Civil Rights movement, as well as First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt”™s interactions with Black leaders of the mid-century freedom struggle. Through riveting photographs and sound recordings, the Roosevelt Library hopes to inspire and tell the story of the struggle for equal treatment and respect. “This is an exciting time for the FDR Library,” said William Harris, director of the FDR Museum, who was joined on opening day by FDR Library trustee Basil Smikle, Ph.D., assistant teaching professor at Rutgers University-Newark, who helped organize the exhibition.

“Black Americans, Civil Rights and The Roosevelts” will be on open to the public at FDR”™s Library & Museum in Hyde Park through Dec. 31.