LOUISVILLE, KY (January 29, 2021) — Learning and celebrating Black History has never been more important than right now. To this end, the Muhammad Ali Center is pleased to announce that it will be one of just a handful of attractions around the country that was chosen for inclusion in Microsoft’s Legacy Project, a virtual museum experience, which will transport exhibits into students’ homes or classrooms across North America. Microsoft’s partnership with the Ali Center and other museums, historical landmarks, cultural centers, athletes, and civic influencers worldwide will include a month-long series of FREE immersive and interactive experiences for K-12 schools and communities to learn about and celebrate Black History. This month long journey will be available from February 1-28, 2021. Schools, youth programs, and families can click the link to enroll in the program.
Microsoft’s goal for this first-of-its-kind Legacy Project is to re-envision Black History’s narrative and to shine a bright light on the outstanding accomplishments that African Americans have made and are continuing to make right now. The platform was curated to inspire and educate communities about significant moments and prominent figures in Black History—like Louisville’s own, Muhammad Ali.
Those who access the Ali Center’s virtual presentation will learn about policies that impacted Black communities. Online participants, no matter where in the nation they reside, will be enlightened by Muhammad Ali’s fight against systemic racism through the Center’s “Truth Be Told” exhibit.
“Muhammad Ali’s message of social and racial justice was potent and impactful to people around the world,” said Donald Lassere, President and CEO of the Muhammad Ali Center. “Through our ‘Truth Be Told’ exhibit, we candidly share the policies that have impacted Black lives in America for 400 years, so that all people can understand the unfiltered truth left out of our history books and become champions for racial equity for all Americans.”
Shy Averett, Global Sr. Community Program and Events Manager for Microsoft in Redmond, Washington, said “We are excited to provide the Legacy Project as a platform to encourage people to come together and learn lessons from the past and apply them today and in the future.”
Highlights of virtual activities from partner organizations include:
- Walk with MLK virtually & fight for civil rights in the Selma-to-Montgomery Marches of 1965
- Step back into the Civil Rights Era to witness the struggle for life & liberty for all at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights
- Learn about policies that impacted Black communities & Muhammad Ali's fight against systemic racism at the Ali Center's "Truth Be Told" exhibit
- Hear inspirational children's stories about Black History like Hidden Figures & Let the Children March, with books read aloud by some of our favorite NBA & NFL players for K-2nd graders
- Fly through the eyes of WWII's Tuskegee Airmen, the first Black military aviators in the US Army Air Corps at the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site
- Hit a home run with Satchel Paige & Jackie Robinson at the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
- Retrace Slavery from Enslavement to Emancipation – Ft. Monroe, Whitney Plantation, and Milton House - Tour Fort Monroe where the first Africans entered the country, explore the Whitney Plantation & see how Slaves lived & walk through the Milton House's secret passageways of the Underground Railroad
- Explore the legacy of the African Americans in the US military at the Buffalo Soldiers National Museum
- Travel back in time with a fireside chat with Freedom Rider Hezekiah Watkins to protest social injustice & racial inequality & tour the Freedom Rides Museum
- Take a virtual scavenger hunt through George Washington Carver's most noted inventions at the Carver Museum
- Celebrate today's groundbreaking African American Changemakers who are leading the world right now at Microsoft's Current Day Black History Museum
- Listen to & learn about the origins of Black Music & Music of the Civil Rights Movement with the GRAMMY Museum
Finally, as part of the Legacy Project, students can explore additional virtual museum sections entitled: Black Boss Moves, Black Achievers, Blacks in Entertainment, Young, Gifted and Black, The Black Justice League, Blacks Changing the Game. Some of the people featured include: Tyler Perry, Danita Johnson (First Black President in Major Leagues Socce), Nikole Hannah-Jones (1619 Project), Noah Harris (first Black Student Body President at Harvard College), Roxanne Gay (first Black female Marvel Comic writer), and others. A blank wall in the virtual museum's final section poses the question: What Will Your Legacy Be?
For more information, please email inclusivecommunity@service.microsoft.com.