The discussions have been planned in conjunction with the exhibit Solidarity Now! 1968 Poor People’s Campaign, which is currently on view at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza.
The exhibition explores one of the most important grassroots movements within the civil rights era when the United States was wrestling with police brutality, civil disorders, open housing and the Vietnam War.
The three-part series began Dec. 3.
Marvin Dulaney, deputy director and chief operations officer for the African American Museum and also a moderator for the second discussion, said the talks give real and personal stories of people who lived during that time.
This is in reference to the first discussion where speaker Ernest McMillan, a community activist from Dallas, shared his personal account along with other panelists of what happened in Dallas during the civil rights movement in 1968.
The second installment of the community discussions will center on the 1968 Kerner Commission Report.
The report examined the main causes for the civil disorders and racial violence in the United States from 1965 to 1967. The report was developed by a Presidential Commission appointed by Lyndon B. Johnson and chaired by Illinois Governor Otto J. Kerner.
“There are people in Dallas who are embarrassed and want to suppress the true history of Dallas because it’s been a place of violence and oppression. There are young people who don’t know this part of American history because they weren’t born. We want to use these talks to engage everybody in the community,” Dulaney said.
The remaining community discussions will be held at 1 p.m. on Dec. 10 and Jan. 14 at the African American Museum in Fair Park. They are open to the public.
Got a tip? Email Brittany Stubblefield-Engram at bstubblefield-engram@kera.org.
KERA News is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider making a tax-deductible gifttoday. Thank you.
