DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Henry Ford will soon be expanding its collection of civil rights artifacts.
The museum recently acquired a historic home in Selma, Alabama. The home of Dr. and Mrs. Sullivan Jackson, referred to as the Jackson house, is currently owned by their daughter Jawana Jackson. Her childhood home was the meeting place for civil rights leaders, including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., during the planning of the historic march to Montgomery.
"The house became a safe haven for Dr. King during the time period they were planning the Selma to Montgomery march. And many other civil rights activists and colleagues of his came to the home during that time. It was unsafe at that time for Black Americans to stay in hotels," said Patricia Mooradian.
Mooradian is the president and CEO of the Henry Ford. She says she received a call from Jackson about the home about a year ago. She says Jackson, who has no heirs to pass the home to, did some research on Greenfield Village and wanted the home to be preserved there.
Mooradian says civil rights leaders would often rest at the home and eat a home-cooked meal prepared by Jackson's mother.
"The Jacksons, when you think about them, they were ordinary people. He was a dentist, she was a teacher but they played a role. Very ordinary people playing a role in American history. I don't know if they knew at the time how significant it would be," said Mooradian.
The home will be dismantled in Selma and rebuilt in Greenfield Village on the Henry Ford campus in Dearborn. The 80+ acre living history museum already houses structures including the Firestone Barn and the Logan County Courthouse where a young Abraham Lincoln practiced law.
Mooradian says once rebuilt, the home will include much of its original furniture which the Jackson family kept in great condition. One of the more significant artifacts visitors can expect to see inside is a chair that Dr. King sat in during visits. The Jackson family says he watched President Lyndon B. Johnson's historic "We Shall Overcome" speech from the chair on March 15, 1965.
Curators from the museum have already made multiple trips to Selma to check on the structural integrity of the home and have begun collecting artifacts.
"When you’re immersed in that history, you can understand it a little better. You can feel something. Our goal is to always make our visitors a little more curious about something so they’re inspired and if they can go out and do one more thing to make a difference that’s what our goal is," said Mooradian.
The museum says they’re aiming to have the home built and open for visitors to walk through in the next two to three years.
