Choosing to Participate Arrives in Memphis
Memphis, TN - The library is not the typical spot to hang out on a Sunday morning. But that’s just where a small team of Facing History and Ourselves employees met in the early morning hours of Sunday, August 14. This week, staff members from the national and Memphis offices got to work installing the organization’s traveling exhibit, Choosing to Participate, at the Benjamin L. Hooks Central Library here. The exhibit, which recently completed a four-month run at the Historical Society of Washington, D.C., opens in Memphis on September 6.
“It is clear that the library is a true resource to the community, and Choosing to Participate will be right at home here,” Facing History’s Assistant Director of External Affairs, Emma Samler reported from Memphis. Emma, who works in the Brookline office, is in Tennessee this week to oversee the exhibit’s installation. “While always careful to use our library voices, we are hard at work getting each installation up and ready for tours.”
Since 1998, Choosing to Participate has traveled to Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and most recently, Washington, D.C. To date, it has reached more than 385,000 people through exhibition tours and related events. This will be the second time the show travels to Memphis. Up to 25,000 people are expected to participate.
To celebrate, Facing History will host a free community event on the evening of October 10 at the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art. The event, sponsored by The Allstate Foundation, includes a screening and panel discussion featuring Wednesdays in Mississippi, a documentary about black and white women in the fight to end segregation in America. The filmmakers and women featured in the film will be speakers on the panel. This Community Conversation is part of a robust calendar of events that will be available on the Choosing to Participate website. Be sure to check back for updates.
Choosing to Participate is free and open to the public during normal library hours September 6 through November 30. Guided tours are offered during the week. To find out more about the exhibit or to request a tour, click here.
You can also keep up to date on the exhibit by checking our website, becoming our fan on Facebook, or following us on Twitter. Planning to tweet from the exhibit or about it? We’re using the hashtag #CTPMemphis and we’d love it if you did, too!
