Arthur Blank’s foundation donates $17 million to National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta

The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation announced Thursday that it has committed to a $17 million donation over five years to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta.

$15 million will fund the Center’s new three-story West Wing, while the remaining $2 million will “[seek] to connect our racial history to the present, bring diverse groups together, and make progress through conversation and leadership,” according to a press release.

The newly funded West Wing will host the Without Sanctuary Collection of postcards of lynching and anti-lynching artifacts and the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Papers.

According to the press release, the donation will help fund the new Truth and Transformation program, which “will create the broad civic architecture and processes required for conversation and reconciliation about our community’s history of racial terror, violence and injustice – and the ongoing manifestations of these challenges today.”

The building will also comprise of a 2,700 square-foot lobby, a space for temporary exhibits and a café. The expansion will add a total of 20,000 square feet to the Center.

“The most effective way to make progress together as a community is to shine a light on the issues that exist and to then do something about them so that everyone can feel a sense of understanding and support,” Blank said in the press release. “We believe in the power of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights to educate, include and transform the whole of this community and this country so that together, we can create tangible, positive change.”

Our thanks to Atlanta United’s owner for continuing to invest in the people and city of Atlanta.