Museum shows artifacts from Ferguson protests as part of civil rights exhibit

World Today

Nearly a month after a white police officer was cleared of charges in the killing of an unarmed black teenager, sparking protests across the nation, emotions in the U.S. city of Ferguson, Missouri, remain raw. Activists aren’t the only ones keeping Ferguson in the spotlight. CCTV America’s Frances Kuo reported from a museum in Washington, D.C. about an exhibit that addresses the recent events.

Most of what the public knows about Ferguson was through the eyes of the media, so it’s appropriate that Newseum, an interactive museum focused on how the media covers news events, currently has an exhibit on the protests.

Quote from a Newseum article about the exhibit.

Quote from Newseum article on the exhibit.

“Ferguson is such a strong story right now to illustrate the powers of the First Amendment,” Patty Rhule, the Newseum curator said.

In the United States, the First Amendment of the Constitution protects free speech, freedom of the press, and the right to peaceably assemble.

More than a dozen artifacts from demonstrations that rocked Ferguson are now part of the museum’s exhibit on the civil rights movement called, Make Some Noise: Students and the Civil Rights Movement. The objects were arranged close to displays about other civil rights movements in the U.S. including anti-segregation protests by African-Americans during the 1950s and 60s.

Part of the exhibit allows the public to weigh in on their views of how the Ferguson protests were covered. Visitors were asked whether the news media covered events in Ferguson in a fair and accurate way and could then place a sticker under “yes,” or “no,” columns, or even right in the middle.

Learn more about the Make Some Noise exhibit, and follow the Newseum at @Newseum: