Immersive Exhibits Bring History to Life
From the Reconstruction Era and the Civil Rights Movement to today’s global human rights challenges, our exhibits and galleries invite you to listen, reflect, and take action. Our storytelling illuminate the past, while revealing what’s at stake for the future.
exhibitions that illuminate. experiences that inspire.
Each gallery at the Center invites you to connect deeply and reflect courageously. Past and present converge in immersive experiences—from Black Atlantans resisting Jim Crow to global leaders fighting for human rights today—our permanent exhibits illuminate what’s been won and what’s still at stake.
Featured Experience
The Lunch Counter
Sit at a Greensboro lunch counter. Hear the taunts, feel the tension, and step into the courage it took to resist. This powerful installation immerses you in the experience of nonviolent protest, honoring the students who demanded dignity through peaceful defiance.
Signature Galleries
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See Dr. King’s handwritten sermons, speeches, and notes. Answer the phone at his desk. This gallery links past to present, sharing Dr. King’s vision to guide our lives today. It’s a space of legacy, listening, and living purpose.
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The fight for justice knows no borders. This gallery shines a light on human rights defenders across the globe. These are ordinary people doing extraordinary work to confront oppression and protect dignity in their communities. Through powerful stories and global context, visitors are invited into a broader movement for equity that stretches across countries, cultures, and causes. These are not distant struggles. They are deeply human ones, and they remind us that the pursuit of justice belongs to all of us.
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Experience the courage of the Greensboro sit-ins. Journey with the Freedom Riders. Witness the strength of organized, nonviolent resistance. Through immersive storytelling and powerful sensory moments, this exhibit brings the U.S. Civil Rights Movement to life.
Action Lab
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What will you do with what you’ve learned? The Action Lab transforms insight into action with interactive prompts, civic tools, and real-time ways to get involved. Designed for reflection, conversation, and purpose, this space equips visitors to take meaningful steps. That might mean contacting a policymaker, supporting a cause, or starting a dialogue in your community. This is where the journey continues: from awareness to advocacy, from witness to changemaker.
rotating exhibits
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Our current presentation in the Edith Dee Cofrin Special Exhibitions Gallery is an art exhibition of Black Southern artists who worked in the 1980s and 1990s. These artists demonstrate how art confronts injustice, builds solidarity, and opens space for change. This special exhibition will be available from November 2025 to Spring 2026.
A Mile In My Shoes
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Step into a giant shoebox and choose a pair of shoes, each one belonging to someone with a story to tell. A Syrian refugee. A war veteran. A sex worker. A neurosurgeon. As you walk in their shoes, you’ll hear their voices and experiences through immersive audio. Grief, joy, resilience, hope—this traveling installation invites you into a journey of empathy that bridges difference and deepens our shared humanity. Presented as part of the Human Rights Gallery.
Coming Soon
Broken Promises: The Legacy of Reconstruction
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What happens when a nation breaks its promises? This immersive gallery confronts the legacy of the Reconstruction Era when the hope of freedom gave way to violence, voter suppression, and systemic injustice. Broken Promises invites our visitors to learn more about this chapter in American history and recognize the impact of the recurring pattern of progress and backlash in our country today. This gallery has been supported by the Mellon Foundation and will open in December 2025.
Change Agent Adventure: The Family Gallery
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Our gallery for children under 12 and their adults is designed as a secret headquarters for change agents—with activities that build civic skills and curiosity about justice. This gallery will open in Spring 2026.
MEET THE CURATORS
Our curatorial team developed each exhibition through rigorous research, close collaboration with communities, and a dedication to thoughtful presentation.
Daniel Fuller
Director of Curation
About Daniel
Daniel Fuller, Director of Curation, brings over two decades of experience to his work. He has curated more than 175 exhibitions, championing diverse artistic voices and creating spaces that connect art to powerful social narratives.
Nicole A. Moore
Sr. Director of Education
About Nicole
Nicole A. Moore, curator of A Committed Life and Senior Director of Education at the Center, is a public historian with over a decade of museum experience. She is dedicated to using history as a tool for education, dialogue, and social change.
Kama Pierce
Chief Program Officer
About Kama
Kama Pierce, curator of Broken Promises, brings over 25 years of experience in civil rights, educational programming, and nonprofit and education leadership. As Chief Program Officer at the Center, she oversees exhibitions, K–12 education, public programs, and community initiatives.
Liba Beyer
Human Rights Campaigner
About Liba
Liba Beyer, curator of Everyone. Everywhere. and the Change Agent Adventure, is a strategic communications leader with more than two decades of experience advancing human rights worldwide. She has designed and led impactful, measurable campaigns that seamlessly integrate public engagement, advocacy, brand development, fundraising, and audience growth.