Interior Department Prepares to Nominate U.S. Civil Rights Movement Sites for World Heritage List

Date: Tuesday, July 16, 2024
Contact: Interior_Press@ios.doi.gov

WASHINGTON — Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland today announced that she has authorized the National Park Service to prepare a potential nomination for 11 U.S. Civil Rights Movement sites in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kansas, Mississippi, Virginia and Washington, DC to be added to the UNESCO World Heritage List.    

If designated, the sites would join other cultural and natural sites of universal importance, such as Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona, the Taj Mahal in India, and the Galápagos Islands in Ecuador on the World Heritage List. The Department has also authorized the National Park Service to prepare a possible nomination of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in Georgia. There are currently 1,199 World Heritage Sites in 168 countries, including 25 in the United States. The National Park Service manages all or part of 19 of the 25 U.S. sites.  

“The U.S. sites that mark the civil rights movement are integral in helping us tell a full and complete story of American history,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “We are honored to be entrusted with the responsibility of preserving these stories as part of our enduring effort to pursue a more perfect union. A nomination of these sites to the World Heritage List would further recognize the pain, redemption and healing associated with these historical sites and honor the civil rights heroes who bravely sat, marched and fought to secure equality for all Americans.”  

The following are the 11 U.S. Civil Rights Movement Sites included in the proposed nomination. Nine are managed by the National Park Service: 

• Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama  
• Bethel Baptist Church, Birmingham, Alabama (part of Birmingham Civil Rights National Historic Site)  
• 16th Street Baptist Church, Birmingham, Alabama (part of Birmingham Civil Rights National Historic Site) 
• Edmund Pettus Bridge, Selma, Alabama, (part of Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail) 
• Greyhound Bus Terminal, Anniston, Alabama (part of Freedom Riders National Monument) 
• Little Rock Central High School, Little Rock, Arkansas (Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site) 
• Ebenezer Baptist Church (Heritage Sanctuary), Atlanta, Georgia (part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park) 
• Monroe Elementary School, Topeka, Kansas (part of Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park)  
• Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home, Jackson, Mississippi (Medgar and Myrlie Evers Home National Monument) 
• Robert Russa Moton High School/Museum, Farmville, Virginia  
• Lincoln Memorial and Grounds, Washington, District of Columbia (part of National Mall and Memorial Parks) 

The Department will collaborate with partners and consult with the Federal Interagency Panel for World Heritage on the completed document before making a final decision on whether to submit the nomination for the Civil Rights Movement Sites to the World Heritage Committee. If submitted, the final decision on inclusion on the list will be made by the World Heritage Committee, composed of representatives from 21 nations elected from the members of the World Heritage Convention, and advised by the International Council on Monuments and Sites.  

The National Park Service is the principal government agency responsible for implementing the World Heritage Convention on behalf of the Department and in cooperation with the Department of State. Inclusion of a site in the World Heritage List does not affect management of the sites, which remain subject only to U.S. law. Detailed information on the World Heritage Program and the process for the selection of U.S. sites can be found at https://www.nps.gov/subjects/internationalcooperation/worldheritage.htm. 

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