Q&A

Q: What are the hours of operation?: A: Until further notice, all on-site visits have been cancelled. While this cycle of disease continues to present severe financial

difficulties, none can be compared to the risks. Please consider making a substantial contribution.
Q: Why is museum tied to the May 17, 2019 date and why Brown v. Board of Education?: A: May 17, 2019 marks the 65th year since this pivotal U.S. Supreme Court ruling which is one of the major waves of change associated with the Civil Rights Movement.
Q: Why is the museum located in a residential area?: A: Hundreds of museums are located in residential areas and considered to be an asset, not a liability. Because the founder is architect of the building; the location of the Cecil Williams Museum is actually a part of the DNA concept:upon graduating from high school, he wanted to study architecture but Blacks were unable to attend; he bought a drafting board and designed three homes he has lived in and which housed his photography operation. Throughout South Carolina and the United States, museums in residential areas include: Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, Monroe Street, Topeka,Kansas; Modjeska Simkins House, Columbia, SC; Martin Luther King - Birth House, Atlanta, Georgia; Benjamin Mayes Historic Site, Greenwood, SC.
Q: Will there be an admission fee? And what are the hours of operation?: A: In an effort to serve the public at at same time, remain a viable business operation, we have eliminated the admission fee for onsite visits (when they are resumed) and instead respectfully request donations of a minimum of $20 or more. All contributions will be greatly appreciated to help us build this concept. When onsite visitations resume, it will be by appointment only. Other visitations & VIP tours may be allowed but under special circumstances only.
Q: How many pictures will be exhibited in the museum?: A: Approximately 500 images will be on a full time exhibit status. This number exceeds all other civil rights museum's display status.

In addition, over 2,000 names of individuals will be posted on a Wall of Recognition complimented by a kiosk which electronically reveals contributions to society.
Q. What's this Virtual Reality Tour All Aboutl: 360 Virtual Reality Tours were initiated after the COVID-19 restrictions and close contact and distancing protocols. The world is entering uncharted social behavior which may forever change the norm. Meanwhile, technology such as 360 Virtual Reality Tours rival and sometimes may surpass on-site visitations. Visitors may experience each and every exhibit in the Cecil Williams Civil Rights Museum. Also, by placing mouse on a tagged circle, visual presentations will start and continue until the mouse is removed.
Q. Where Did All This Historic Material Come From?: The historically significant artifacts, photographs, and materials most come from the personal collections of the founder who endured first-hand, the decades of living under segregation in the Deep South. Special one of a kind artifacts like the Briggs Family Historic Bible are on loan from Briggs family members exclusively to the CWSCCRM.
Q. What is the difference between your museum and the International African American Museum being built in Charleston?: A. The CWSCCRM commemorates and defines the missing links in the origin of the National Civil Rights Movement. Before Rev. Martin Luther King, Roasa parks, and the 1955 Montgomery Bus Boycott, the 1950 Clarendon, South Carolina Briggs v. Elliott case— first in the nation to attack school segregation—had become the catalyst for the five cases that became Brown v. Board of Education.