Inside Atlanta's New Civil Rights Museum

The CEO aims for a "very tough conversation in a civil way."

The National Center for Civil and Human Rights  - The National Center for Civil and Human Rights opened earlier this week in downtown Atlanta, the city where Martin Luther King Jr. was based. In both permanent and rotating exhibits, the museum spotlights historic and modern struggles for equality, including civil rights, women’s rights, LGBT issues and child labor. Keep reading to learn more about this new institution. —Patrice Peck with reporting from AP.(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

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The National Center for Civil and Human Rights  - The National Center for Civil and Human Rights opened earlier this week in downtown Atlanta, the city where Martin Luther King Jr. was based. In both permanent and rotating exhibits, the museum spotlights historic and modern struggles for equality, including civil rights, women’s rights, LGBT issues and child labor. Keep reading to learn more about this new institution. —Patrice Peck with reporting from AP.(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

Related Struggles - Separate galleries are dedicated to modern human rights issues and the U.S. civil rights movement of the 1950s and ‘60s, but an emphasis will also be placed on the related struggles between the two.(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

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Related Struggles - Separate galleries are dedicated to modern human rights issues and the U.S. civil rights movement of the 1950s and ‘60s, but an emphasis will also be placed on the related struggles between the two.(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

Interactive Exhibits and Stories - Visitors will learn through interactive exhibits and shared oral histories of real people.(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

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Interactive Exhibits and Stories - Visitors will learn through interactive exhibits and shared oral histories of real people.(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

Photo By Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman

Connect the Dots - "I think it's important that those of us who have knowledge of the civil rights movement, that we continue to connect the dots for the next generation, that we not only share the stories of history but try to relate some of what happened in the '50s and '60s to the now," said Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter Bernice King.(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

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Connect the Dots - "I think it's important that those of us who have knowledge of the civil rights movement, that we continue to connect the dots for the next generation, that we not only share the stories of history but try to relate some of what happened in the '50s and '60s to the now," said Martin Luther King Jr.’s daughter Bernice King.(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

Staged Sit-Ins - A timeline outlining the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King Jr.’s personal papers will be available for viewing in a permanent exhibit, while another particularly emotional exhibit places visitors in a reenactment of the civil right movement’s lunch-counter protests.(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

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Staged Sit-Ins - A timeline outlining the civil rights movement and Martin Luther King Jr.’s personal papers will be available for viewing in a permanent exhibit, while another particularly emotional exhibit places visitors in a reenactment of the civil right movement’s lunch-counter protests.(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

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The Movement's Legacy - "The museum was established in part to connect the movement's legacy to the present day," CEO Doug Shipman told AP.(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

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The Movement's Legacy - "The museum was established in part to connect the movement's legacy to the present day," CEO Doug Shipman told AP.(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

"I Wish I Was There" - "We're trying to produce the feeling, 'I wish I was there,’” Shipman said about an interactive exhibition showcasing the 1963 March on Washington.(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

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"I Wish I Was There" - "We're trying to produce the feeling, 'I wish I was there,’” Shipman said about an interactive exhibition showcasing the 1963 March on Washington.(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

Identifying With Struggle - In the human rights gallery, special mirrors are used to encourage visitors to identify with particular human rights struggles.(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

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Identifying With Struggle - In the human rights gallery, special mirrors are used to encourage visitors to identify with particular human rights struggles.(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

Human Rights Gallery - Also featured in the human rights gallery are a primer on influential human rights activists and villains, an exhibition exploring the ethical footprint of consumer products, and nearly life-size photos representing immigrant rights and disability rights in the U.S., women’s rights in Iran, LGBT rights in Russia.(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

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Human Rights Gallery - Also featured in the human rights gallery are a primer on influential human rights activists and villains, an exhibition exploring the ethical footprint of consumer products, and nearly life-size photos representing immigrant rights and disability rights in the U.S., women’s rights in Iran, LGBT rights in Russia.(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

A Tough Conversation - "We want to be a place to have a very tough conversation in a civil way," Shipman told AP, noting that the museum “is not going to pick sides."(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

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A Tough Conversation - "We want to be a place to have a very tough conversation in a civil way," Shipman told AP, noting that the museum “is not going to pick sides."(Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

Open Daily - The National Center for Civil and Human Rights is located at 100 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd. in Atlanta and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

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Open Daily - The National Center for Civil and Human Rights is located at 100 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd. in Atlanta and is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman)

Photo By Photo: AP Photo/David Goldman