On August 28, 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. organized a March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom to promote civil and economic rights for African American citizens. A group of OVER 200,000 diverse people gathered in front of the Lincoln Memorial to protest racial inequality in the United States.  It was at this event that Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.  Dr. King had a dream that all people living in America would be treated equally, he hoped for younger generations that one day “they will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

To honor this true hero of character, the National Liberty Museum will be hosting Civil Rights Tours and History Scavenger Hunt on January 17th.  The tours and scavenger hunt will highlight civil rights events that occurred in the Greater Philadelphia region.  As you explore the museum you will find stories about each civil rights event and get a sticker to add to your scavenger hunt map!

The centerpiece of the National Liberty Museum is a two-story glass flame called the Flame of Liberty.  To help you remember Martin Luther King Jr.’s speech, we encourage you to add your own dreams to our ‘Flame of Dreams Wall’ displayed in the Museum through February, 2011.

All events this day will be free of charge.  Come help us celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others who have struggled for equal rights.

Admin: D. Fiero

If you have been to the National Liberty Museum recently, then you probably saw our two newest editions. In our Let Freedom Ring and Education Center galleries, we are proudly displaying two Let Freedom Ring Liberty Bells made by local school students. 

The Let Freedom Ring Liberty Bells were created jointly by students from five Philadelphia middle-schools and local artists as a part of a program called Let Art Freedom Ring.

Let Art Freedom Ring is a program of the National Liberty Museum and the Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership. The goal of the project is to provide middle-school aged students with the opportunity to study the concept of democracy, civic responsibility and learn different art techniques by working with professional artists. 

For the duration of the summer, two of the bells can be seen at the National Liberty Museum, and the other three are on display at the National Constitution Center.

Over the next five weeks, we will be featuring these artistic Liberty Bells on our Heroes of Character Blog. We will be learning more about the schools, students and artists involved, as well and trying to understand how they chose to portray their perspectives of liberty and history through art.

For more information go to www.letartfreedomring.org, and remember to check out the bells soon, because in the fall they are traveling to New York to go on display.

Admin: B.Blumenthal

Join us at the National Liberty Museum this Wednesday, March 8 for an evening inspired by the Free Library's "One Book, One Philadelphia."

We'll have Pulitzer Prize-Winning cartoonists Tony Auth and Signe Wilkinson on hand to discuss the use of cartoons in political commentary. The centerpiece for this discussion will be the recent circulation of Persepolis 2.0, in which two Iranian ex-patriots used images by graphic artist Marjane Satrapi to illustrate events surrounding the July 2009 Iranian election.

Philadelphia editorial cartoonist Tom Stiglich will moderate the event, which starts at 7:00 pm.

The event will also feature the National Liberty Museum's CareToons exhibit. Light refreshments will be served.

Space is limited!!!

Again, that's this Wednesday, March 10 at 7:00 pm. To RSVP, or for more information, contact Jan Griesemer at 215-925-2800 ext. 124 or jgriesemer@libertymuseum.org. We'll see you then!