PRESS RELEASE | MAY 15, 2024
ICRCM ACHIEVES NEXT STAGE OF
FEDERAL APPROVAL
FOR LANDMARK RECOGNITION
OF THE GREENSBORO F.W. WOOLWORTH'S BUILDING
"After a lengthy and rigorous process, we are thrilled to share exciting news regarding the F.W. Woolworth’s building in Greensboro. We are delighted to announce that the Landmarks Committee of the National Park Service has unanimously granted approval for the advancement of our beloved building to the next decision stages of approval as a National Historic Landmark. This is the highest level of recognition for a landmark site in the United States. ..."
Community Update: June 22, 2023
ICRCM World Heritage Status
Learn more about the 10-year process for being considered for a World Heritage Inscription from UNESCO, and the ICRCM's progress in being considered for nomination.
Civil Rights Museum Acquires
Guilford County Parcel No. 1
"As of March 31, 2022, after an extended quiet campaign, Sit-In Movement, Inc., became the owner of the former First Citizens Bank Building at 100 South Elm Street for the protection and expansion of the International Civil Rights Center & Museum. The acquisition includes the full city block at the very center of Greensboro, on the corner of which stands the civil rights landmark F.W. Woolworth's Building, where the 1960 Sit-In Movement began on Feb. 1. Many of you may not know this but that block is labeled as Parcel No. 1 in Guilford County. At this point, thanks to the generosity and vision of the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, the County of Guilford, and the City of Greensboro, we are about midway through the capital campaign to cover the cost of this strategic purchase, which places us in a more advantageous position than ever to serve the immediate community and advance understanding about the struggle for equal citizenship and human rights across the world."
- John Swaine, CEO
International Civil Rights Center & Museum
Major Contributors to ICRCM Expansion
Financing provided by James & Barbara Swisher.
Leading Gift
Z. Smith Reynolds
Foundation
$500,000
Guilford County Board
of Commissioners
$2,000,000
Greensboro
City Council
$2,000,000
The State of North Carolina
$1,000,000
Summary of Case Statement
"The International Civil Rights Center & Museum’s general plan for its next stage of development includes two major components, which are closely related and focused on the acquisition of the five-story former First Citizens Bank Building and the rest of the city block on which it and the landmark F.W. Woolworth’s building are located in downtown Greensboro, N.C. ..."
Case Statement for Expansion
"Think of the landmark F.W. Woolworth’s at the crossroads of downtown Greensboro, N.C., as a center-point of civil rights history and ideas — a site where time pivoted toward a more humane future. Here the fundamental national, international, and regional perspectives on enhancing civic equality and human dignity converge on behalf of a new practical vision for building an enlightened community and cultivating decent relations in civic affairs. Think of it, further, as “Civil Rights World-Building,” past and future. ..."
International Civil Rights Center & Museum