The Tennessee Department of Tourist Development (TDTD) and Travel South announced the addition of the Stax Museum of American Soul Music to the U.S. Civil Rights Trail. With this new inclusion, the Stax Museum joins other landmarks for a total of 14 Tennessee stops on the trail.
Other locations in Memphis include the National Civil Rights Museum, Beale Street Historic District, the original WDIA Radio Station facility at 112 Union Ave., Mason Temple Church of God in Christ, and Clayborn Temple and I AM A MAN Plaza. The only other Tennessee site announced for inclusion today was the National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) in Nashville, which opened in January 2021.
The Stax Museum also launched its second annual Virtual Black History Month Tour today, which is available at no cost to educators and students throughout the world but requires registration HERE.
“Our launch of the Stax Museum’s Virtual Black History Month Tour couldn’t be more in line with the announcement that the museum is now being added as an iconic location on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail,” said Stax Museum Executive Director Jeff Kollath. “More than just a label that recorded some of the most indelible, timeless music in history, Stax Records provided a company culture that was inclusive and where people of all races and genders worked together like family at a time of extreme racism and sexism in the United States and particularly in Memphis and the South.”
The Stax Museum opened in May 2003 and will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2023.
“Both our new status on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail in advance of our 20th anniversary, and the launch of our Virtual Black History Month Tour, reflect the role Stax Records played in Memphis’ history and how it continues to do so today,” Kollath added.
For more information about the Stax Museum on the United States Civil Rights Trail, visit HERE. For more information on Tennessee stops along the U.S. Civil Rights Trail, visit www.TNcivilrightstrail.com. Travelers can also document their visits and redeem their “stamped” passports for prizes, all from their mobile device, using Bandwango. Passports are available online.
The U.S. Civil Rights Trail, which debuted in 2018, includes more than 120 sites that were significant to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s – a collection of churches, courthouses, schools, museums and other landmarks primarily in the Southern states where activists challenged segregation in the 1950s and 1960s to advance social justice. The people, locations and destinations included in the Civil Rights Trail provide a way for families, travelers and educators to experience history firsthand and tell the story of how “what happened here changed the world.” Discover each landmark’s importance, watch interviews with foot soldiers and heroes of the movement, check out an interactive map, past and present photographs and 360-degree special video features. Chart the course of the movement and learn about the full trail and other states’ sites at www.civilrightstrail.com.
The Stax Museum is an entity of the Soulsville Foundation. Known as The Global Capital Soul, the Soulsville Foundation also operates the Stax Music Academy and The Soulsville Charter School, all on a vibrant campus at the original site of Stax Records.