The Black Archives Research Center and Museum will host the grand opening of “The King Center Imaging Project” on Monday at 6 p.m.
ElizabethMurell Dawson, archivist and curator of the Black Archives, said the event would be both informative and entertaining for students due to its technological aspects.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for our students and community to access these historical records,” Dawson said. “I think our students will enjoy it because it deals with technology. Our students are so technologically savvy, and I think it’s a good opportunity for our university to strengthen its relationship with this company.”
The exhibit, which is a program of JPMorgan Chase & Co., allows for visitors to hear original speeches and see documents and photographs from the King Library and Archive in Atlanta.
According to Julia Clarke, a junior electrical engineering student from Orlando, Fla., the exhibit will be both informational and entertaining to students.
“I have seen the archives in person, so I know that the students will be amazed by information that is in the exhibit,” Clarke said. “Most of the material has never been seen before.”
The project has also launched a website – TheKingCenter.org/archive – to preserve thousands of historical documents by Martin Luther King Jr. and other prominent figures in the civil rights movement. These documents are publicly available for those who do not have the opportunity to see the exhibit in person.
Bria Way, a freshman pharmacy student from Miami, said she is eager to see the exhibit in person and commemorate the civil rights movement.
“I am excited to see this exhibit,” Way said. “This gives students the chance to actively celebrate Black History Month.”
For Tyrri McCloud, a senior political science student from Pompano Beach, Fla., attending this exhibit is a chance to be involved in history.
“It’s an honor to be a part of a momentous occasion in FAMU’s history,” McCloud said. “This gives every FAMUan an opportunity to reconnect to our history as African-Americans and build upon the legacy of Dr. King and other trailblazers.”