The State Museum of Pennsylvania is presenting a new exhibition focusing on three stories of the Civil Rights Movement in the state. Scheduled to open to the public on Friday, June 17, A Place for All: Three Stories of Integration in Pennsylvania combines three evocative episodes in Civil Rights history originally presented as three separate temporary exhibits in 2002-2005.
Originally curated by Eric Ledell Smith, a noted African American scholar who was a historian on the museum’s staff, these displays focused on mid-20th-century integration efforts in three arenas of Pennsylvania – housing, education and public accommodations – through the lens of personal struggles and first-person remembrances.
The State Museum has revived and updated these exhibits, presenting them as one comprehensive installation that will open in the first floor galleries adjacent to the Pennsylvania Icons exhibition.
A Place for All comprises three sections, each telling a story of bravery, strength and resilience. One is “A Story of Strength: The Myers Family Moves to Levittown.” In 1952, Levittown was the largest planned community constructed by a single builder in the U.S. This exhibit focuses on the integration of housing and features the story of the violence and harassment endured by the Myers family as they moved in as Levittown’s first African American residents to pursue their dream of suburban home ownership.
The other sections of the exhibit are “A Story of Bravery: Integrating Pittsburgh’s Public Pools” and “A Story of Resilience: The Desegregation of Girard College.”
The exhibit was updated by Harrisburg native and television production veteran Leslie Strain, who provided research and additional content to revise and unite the three stories. State Museum senior history curator Dr. Curtis Miner and history curator Katelyn Metz managed and edited content and procured the historical photographs, media, artifacts and supporting material for the exhibition.
The State Museum of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Heritage Foundation are hosting a public opening reception for A Place for All on June 17, from 7 to 9 p.m. The event features refreshments and music by the jazz fusion ensemble First Class. Admission is free in conjunction with Harrisburg’s 3rd in the Burg, a celebration of the city’s growing arts and cultural scene. A public tour of the exhibit is scheduled for Sunday, June 19, at 2 p.m. Admission to the museum is free that day.
