Focus expands this year for a national audience of students and educators

Memphis, Tennessee, Oct. 07, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The National Civil Rights Museum’s Freedom Award Student Forum is a celebration for and by young trailblazers. Presented by FedEx, this year’s hybrid event is open to school groups nationally as an opportunity for students to be inspired by the purpose-driven lives of Freedom Award honorees. The Student Forum is held October 17, 2024, at the FedEx Forum, 10:30 a.m. Central.

The Freedom Award Student Forum will feature its distinguished Freedom Award honorees: XERNONA CLAYTON, civil and human rights activist and producer; SHERRILYN IFILL, former President and Director-Counsel Emeritus of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; and SPIKE LEE, Academy Award-winning filmmaker and educator.

The museum’s partnership with FedEx enables it to expand the reach of this unique hybrid program, designed for students with the support of the museum’s education staff and education resources. The hybrid format fosters broader engagement and accessibility so that students nationally and globally can be inspired by their peers and through the stories from the honorees’ journeys.

FedEx’s support also includes over 100 volunteers at the event. Their employee volunteers put their skills and student interests into action as they assist with logistics, strategic planning, and hospitality at the Student Forum.

The Museum extends the invitation to educators and students in 5th-12th grade classrooms virtually to engage, via a moderated YouTube chat room, with up to 5,000 in-person Freedom Award Student Forum participants. Teachers and youth group leaders who plan to have their students experience the Student Forum must register in advance via the Freedom Award website.

Additional support for the Freedom Award Student Forum is provided by Ford Philanthropy, International Paper, Memphis Grizzlies, and Memphis Bar Foundation. For more information about the Freedom Award Student Forum, visit the website or contact education@civilrightsmuseum.org.

About the National Civil Rights Museum

The NATIONAL CIVIL RIGHTS MUSEUM, located at the historic Lorraine Motel where civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, gives a comprehensive overview of the American Civil Rights Movement from slavery to the present. Since the Museum opened in 1991, millions of visitors from around the world have come, including more than 90,000 students annually. Serving as the new public square, the Museum is steadfast in its mission to honor and preserve the site of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s assassination. We chronicle the American civil rights movement and tell the story of the ongoing struggle for human rights, serving as a catalyst to inspire action to create

positive social change. A Smithsonian Affiliate and an internationally acclaimed cultural institution, the Museum is recognized as a 2019 National Medal Award recipient by the Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS), the top national honor for museums and libraries. It is a TripAdvisor Travelers’ Choice Top 5% U.S. Museum, USA Today's Top 10 Best American Iconic Attractions; Top 10 Best Historical Spots in the U.S. by TLC's Family Travel; Must See by the Age of 15 by Budget Travel and Kids; Top 10, American Treasures by USA Today; and Best Memphis Attraction by The Commercial Appeal and the Memphis Business Journal.

– civilrightsmuseum.org –

CONTACT: Connie Dyson National Civil Rights Museum 901-527-1225 cdyson@civilrightsmuseum.org