Right outside Oak Ridge Cemetery, the resting place of President Abraham Lincoln, is the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum.
It serves as a community center as well, with summer camps and cultural events. A current exhibit honors the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Around the country, individuals and organizations are commemorating his death 50 years ago, when he was assassinated in Memphis on April 4, 1968. He was there for a sanitation workers strike - part of his shifted focus to advancing rights and protections for the country's poor.
The exhibit includes items on loan from a woman who attended church with King, as well as information and photographs chronicling insights about his life and work. The exhibit will be up through the end of the year. You can hear our interview with the museum's coordinator, Doris Bailey, here:
