The National Civil Rights Museum
Passing the torch of history
By Jonathan Gramling

    For Allison Fouche’, communications coordinator for the National Civil Rights Museum (NCRM), African American history has been upfront and
personal. Her mother was the first African American to work as a cashier for Kroger in Memphis. And that distinction did not come the easy way.
“She showed them her resume,” Fouche’ said in her offices at the NCRM, which is located in the old Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, where Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. was assassinated in 1968. “At that time, she had a college degree so you know she was qualified to be a cashier. She showed up and
they told her that they didn’t have a job. But she had already been told they needed cashiers. At that point, she said ‘So and so told
me there was a job open here.’ The man got quiet, looked at her, got on the phone, and called the man. Next thing she knew, she did had a job.
But it was because she wasn’t afraid to speak up. It wasn’t until she said ‘I know you have a job. Someone told me you had a job here. And just
because I’m African American does not mean I cannot get this job.’ Most people would have just said okay and left. She stood there and it
took about an hour for that whole process to happen. Most people would have been afraid and left. She fought for what she thought was right. She
needed a job. She knew there was a job there. She was referred for the job. And she was overqualified.” The cashiers’ lines at Kroger were integrated.
    But Fouche’s mother still had to pass other tests along the line. It took awhile for White Memphis to warm to having an African American as their
cashier. “Her checkout line was open and a Caucasian person’s line was open,” Fouche’ said. “Caucasian people would not come through her line
because she was African American. So what she would do is just sit there and clean her area. She was going to get paid whether people came
through or not. At that time, you had to write everything down and add it up and take the money. Once, in particular, she calculated
an order and the lady complained ‘You charged me too much.’ My mom replied ‘No ma’am, I didn’t.’ She made a big fuss saying ‘You Black
people, you all don’t know what you are doing. I need to see your manager, girl.’ So the manager came down and asked if there was a problem. The
lady said ‘She overcharged me for my groceries.’ The manager added it up and said ‘You’re right, she didn’t charge you correctly. Actually,
she didn’t charge you enough.’ My mom remembers those kinds of stories.”
    So it seemed only natural for Fouche’ to feel at home when she started working at NCRM about a year ago. To her, working there is a labor of
love for she feels committed to handing down the stories of the civil rights generation to her children’s generation and beyond. “I feel the story needs
to be told how African American people were treated and just wanted to be free and equal,” Fouche’ said. “They didn’t want to be
separate, but equal. They wanted to be able to go to the same schools and do the same things and if they had the same credentials, they wanted to
be able to work the same jobs. This is a story that does not need to die. And the history needs to be preserved, so that my children can understand
the significance of not just what their grandparents did, but also what ordinary people did for us to have the same opportunities that everyone else
has.”
    And the history is important to know not only what happened in the past, but to also understand the present and the children’s future direction.
“We have to let kids know their history by keeping this building open so the kids can know things weren’t always this way,” Fouche’ said. “You weren’t
always able to go to public places. You were not always allowed to go to the same schools as other children were. My children have Caucasian
friends. We weren’t allowed to have Caucasian friends because that wasn’t smiled upon. We can’t forget our history. You have to know your history to
know where you are going. What drew me here was keeping this portion of history, especially for our young African American kids, so they can
understand what it took for us to be free.”
    For Fouche’, the exhibit broadens people’s understanding of the civil rights movement so that they understand that the movement entailed so
much more than just Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “We need to let kids know that Martin Luther King was the face of the civil rights movement, but the
real source of power to make change lies with ordinary people,” Fouche’ emphasized. “Of course, Dr. King was the figurehead. He was the face of
the movement. But had it not been for Rosa Parks and others who refused to get on those buses for 381 days, we wouldn’t be here.”
    Working at NCRM is always a journey through history for Fouche’. Ands the exhibits still impact her when she has the chance to walk through
them. “It’s always emotional,” Fouche’ said. “I didn’t know anything about what happened in the days leading up to Dr. King’s assassination. That
exhibit was really eye-opening. James Earl Ray wasn’t even a block away. He was basically across the street. It just takes you back in time when you
go over there. Even when you stand in the King room, it just takes you back in time. He was standing right there. And you can see where he was shot
from. A lot of it is very emotional for me.”
    One of the fringe benefits, one could say, of working at NCRM is that its board is practically a living history of the movement. Rev. Benjamin
Hooks, the former executive director of the NAACP, is the chair of the board. “We have board members like Rev. Samuel Billy Kyle who was with
King in his last hour,” Fouche’ said. “When he comes to a board meeting and talks, I just listen. To be in the presence of a Maxine Smith who was
executive secretary for the Memphis NAACP and for her to tell the stories of what she heard and where she was when she heard the news that Dr.
King was assassinated. That oral history that is passed down is priceless. Those are the things that make this job worthwhile. I sit there thinking ‘Tell
me more. Tell me more. Tell me more.’ Benjamin Hooks, who was just awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, to be in his presence, is
wonderful. Just to be around and hear those who have been in the struggle and walked alongside King is great.”
    April 4, 2008 will mark the 40th anniversary of the assassination of Dr. King. And NCRM — as well as the city of Memphis — is planning some
special commemorations of this anniversary. They have been developing a speakers list of people who lived in Memphis on that day and can recall
what they were doing when they heard the news. “Russell Sugarman who was on the state legislature at the time said he was driving down the street
coming back from Nashville,” Fouche’ recalled. “He was so overwhelmed with emotion that he had to pull over to the side of the expressway, get out
of his vehicle and start to cry. Fred Smith was a city councilperson and his business suffered. There are White people who remember when the city
had curfews and was shut down and they lived in the suburbs. They thought the Black people were coming to get them.
Here in the accounts of ordinary people and what was going on is a wonderful story. I used to hate history. I’m going to be honest with you. I used to
hate the history lessons and going to history class before I came here. But now I’m hearing the first-hand accounts of what happened.
That’s what makes this job very worthwhile.”
    During the week of the commemoration, the original car that King rode in while he was in Memphis will be on display. And there will be special
commemorations on April 4. “We’re doing a candle-light vigil and a brick installation ceremony,” Fouche’ said. “People have bought bricks all year
round. We’re going to install 40 bricks in the courtyard and light 40 candles for him at the actual assassination time, 6:01 p.m. We have different
public officials coming in to speak on behalf of King. Jesse Jackson comes every year. Some people just show up. This year, the National Action
Network is having their conference at the convention center, but they are going to be here during that time. The Beloved Community, a local
organization, will be marching from Beale Street to the museum. Angela Davis is going to be here at the University of Memphis. The SCLC is doing
some breakfasts and lunches. We want to honor the sanitation workers. We’re planning a sanitation workers luncheon and honoring the people who
participated in the strikes.”
    And for those who wish to learn more about Dr. King and those fateful days in Memphis, NCRM has collaborated with Fox 13, WHBQ-TV in
Memphis to establish an on-line resource at www.mlkinmemphis.com. It includes local television and print coverage of Kings visit in Memphis.
For Fouche’, working at NCRM is living history. And as one walks through NCRM, the history comes alive through multimedia exhibits that keep the
history interesting and alive all the way through the end of the exhibits. While African American history is suffused with violence, the museum’s
exhibits are tastefully done to make it a positive educational experience for the whole family.
    For more information about the National Civil Rights Museum, call them at (901) 521-9699 or visit their website at www.civilrightsmuseum.org
Allison Fouche, communications coordinator
for the National Civil Rights Museum in
Memphis