Rolls Down Like Water: U.S. Civil Rights Movement Exhibition
Rolls Down Like Water: U.S. Civil Rights Movement presents the fight for civil rights in America – from the era of Jim Crow segregation to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968. This is a permanent exhibit at The National Center for Civil and Human Rights.
The National Center for Civil and Human Rights
Original Curator: George C. Wolfe. Digital Curator: Sam Landis
Photograph of the Entrance to Rolls Down Like Water Exhibit (2014) by Photographer - Dustin Chambers and Curator - George C. WolfeThe National Center for Civil and Human Rights
Entrance to the 1950's Urban South Gallery
"Curator George C. Wolfe, the Broadway producer, drew on his theatrical know-how and the “living newspapers” tradition in developing this powerful and haunting chronicle of the movement’s triumphs and human toll."
- Catherine Fox at ArtsATL
Photograph of Rolls Down Like Water: American Civil Rights Movement Exhibit (2014) by Curator - George C. Wolfe and Photographer - Justin ChanThe National Center for Civil and Human Rights
1950's Urban South Gallery
This exhibit explores life in the 1950s in the Urban South through interactive displays featuring Jim Crow laws and the people in power who vocally and violently enforced segregation.
Photograph of Rolls Down Like Water: American Civil Rights Movement Exhibit (2014) by Photographed by Dustin Chambers and Exhibit Curated by George C. WolfeThe National Center for Civil and Human Rights
Despite this adversity, African-American Institutions thrived in Atlanta with a a dynamic community network of churches, colleges, schools, fraternal orders, social clubs, and a range of commercial ventures.
Photograph of Rolls Down Like Water Exhibit (2014) by Photographer - Dustin Chambers and Curator - George C. WolfeThe National Center for Civil and Human Rights
The designers use newspaper headlines and photos as well as television news reports — playing on vintage monitors, projected on walls — to help create a “you are there” feeling.
Photograph of Rolls Down Like Water: American Civil Rights Movement Exhibit (2014) by Curator - George C. Wolfe and Photographer - Dustin ChambersThe National Center for Civil and Human Rights
The abundant use of broadcast and print media also reflects their role in supporting the movement, whether it was reporters speaking truth to power or savvy civil rights leaders exploiting it to make their case to the world.
Photograph of Freedom Riders Gallery (2014) by Photographer - Dustin Chambers and Curator - George C. WolfeThe National Center for Civil and Human Rights
Freedom Riders
Visitors enter a reconstruction of the same Greyhound Bus that Freedom Riders rode that day and are immersed by oral histories from the Riders, as well as a short film inside of the bus.
Photograph of Lunch Counter Sit-In (2014) by Curator - George C. Wolfe and Photographer - Justin ChanThe National Center for Civil and Human Rights
Lunch Counter Sit-In
After learning about the training involved in non-violent protests, visitors are invited to participate in a lunch counter sit-in simulation and place themselves in the shoes of non-violent protestors in 1960
Photograph of the Lunch Counter Sit-In Experience (2014) by Photographer - Justin Chang and Curator - George C. WolfeThe National Center for Civil and Human Rights
"Wolfe's aim to put visitors “inside history” is most literally expressed in the lunch counter sit-in display. Though the sound loop is just 90 seconds, it is enough to appreciate discipline it took to practice passive resistance, much less remain seated for hours."
- ArtsATL
Photograph of The March on Washington Gallery (2014) by Curator - George C. Wolfe and Photographer - Justin ChanThe National Center for Civil and Human Rights
The March on Washington Gallery
One of the most iconic and joyful moments of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement, the March on Washington gallery is a multimedia experience that highlights the events of the day.
Photograph of Rolls Down Like Water: American Civil Rights Movement Exhibit (2014) by Curator - George C. Wolfe and Photographer - Dustin ChambersThe National Center for Civil and Human Rights
View footage of King giving his seminal “I Have A Dream” speech.
Photograph of The March on Washington Gallery (2014) by Curator - George C. Wolfe and Photographer - Justin ChanThe National Center for Civil and Human Rights
Listen to the exciting sounds of protests and songs, and learn more about key players in the event’s successful planning and execution.
Photograph of Rolls Down Like Water: American Civil Rights Movement Exhibit (2014) by Photographer - Justin Chan and Curator - George C. WolfeThe National Center for Civil and Human Rights
Photograph of Requiem Gallery (2014) by Photographer - Justin Chan and Curator - George C. WolfeThe National Center for Civil and Human Rights
The Requiem Gallery
Photograph of The Requiem Gallery (2014) by Photographer - Dustin ChambersThe National Center for Civil and Human Rights
View images of the martyrs of the movement.
Photograph of Requiem Gallery (2014) by Photographer - Justin Chan and Curator - George C. WolfeThe National Center for Civil and Human Rights
"Rolls Down Like Water, a chronicle of the American civil rights movement, is a soul-wrenching experience."
- ArtsATL
"The fight for civil rights is a great American story, filled not just with leaders of astonishing power and vision, but everyday citizens, who because of their bravery, humanity and heart, transformed this country, politically, spiritually and culturally."
Exhibit Curator, George C. Wolfe
Curator: George C. Wolfe
Fabricator: Rockwell Group
Digital Curator: Sam Landis
