Morgan State University Newsroom Morgan State University
Morgan State University’s restoration and 2016 reopening of the Lillie Carroll Jackson Civil Rights Museum (LCJM) has received a Maryland Preservation Award, the state’s highest recognition for historical preservation,heritage education and community development projects. The museum honors the legacy of civil rights activist Lillie May Carroll Jackson and other Baltimore area freedom fighters of the modern civil rights movement, and its adjacent Resource Center provides hands-on experience for students in MSU’s Museum Studies and History departments. The Museum, which received its award in the category of “Project Excellence: Institutional Rehabilitation,” was one of 10 organizations and individuals recognized during the 43rd Annual Maryland Preservation Awards ceremony, presented by the Board of Trustees of the Maryland Historical Trust in February.
“Lillie Carroll Jackson wanted all people to know the history of the struggle for freedom and equality in the United States (and) declared that her home should be a civil rights museum,” wrote Iris Leigh Barnes, curator of the LCJM. “In 1978, the Jackson-Mitchell family made her dream a reality. Morgan State University, which shared the vision, acquired the museum in 1996.”
“It was not an easy task, but at the end, after 20 years, we were able to open the building,” said Gabriel Tenabe, director of Morgan’s Office of Museums, in a video produced by the awards presenters. “This museum should be a museum that captures the imagination of our children.”
The Morgan family applauds the Lillie Carroll Jackson Civil Rights Museum, and all of the participants in its restoration and operation, for affirming MSU’s status as a national treasure.
