News and Events


A Conversation with National Civil Rights Museum President Dr. Russ Wigginton
FEB 27 • 5:00pm
TOYOTA AUDITORIUM
Please join the Howard H. Baker Jr. Center, Department of History, and Department of Africana Studies for an evening with Dr. Russ Wigginton, president of the National Civil Rights Museum.
The birthplace of the Civil Rights Movement and the location of Dr. King’s assassination, Tennessee’s public history carries the Civil Rights story. The National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis leads the state in providing Tennesseans, and all Americans, remarkable access to The Greatest Civil Rights Story Ever Told.
As we honor Black History Month, Dr. Wigginton and two UT civil rights historians, professor emeritus Dr. Cynthia Fleming and associate professor Dr. Brandon Winford, will take the stage to share their insights on The Greatest Civil Rights Story Ever Told, its legacy in our society today, and the public history that supports it.
A reception will follow the discussion.
Wigginton has served as the president of the National Civil Rights Museum since 2021. He served as vice president for student life and dean of students at Rhodes College from 2017- 2019. Prior to that, he served as Rhodes’ vice president for external programs and vice president for college relations for 11 years. He taught for eight years in the History department, specializing in African-American and community history.