Curated Sets

The residents of the Jackson home exemplify the transformative power of education. More than a path to professional success and stability, education was a commitment to teaching, mentoring, and inspiring others. Through their training and expertise, Dr. Sullivan and Richie Jean Jackson served their community by providing essential dental care and nurturing future generations.

Fabric powers economies, clothes our bodies, and furnishes our homes. The textiles that Americans have made and used offer us a rich perspective of the many stories that make up our history and the enduring values that our nation holds.

The Jackson Home was known as “The House by the Side of the Road” for the way it welcomed everyone who came by. It was this welcoming spirit that would place the home at the center of history, as the struggle for Civil Rights came to Selma in 1965.  

In 1965, all eyes turned to Selma, Alabama, as the next stage in the fight for civil rights. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and other activists planned a series of marches from Selma to Montgomery to draw attention to the continued struggle for voting rights for Black Americans.

Magazines and catalogs have encouraged a desire for fashion since the late 19th century. Serving as style guides, they spread news of trends to those eager to keep up with the latest looks. Though high fashion might be out of reach for some, looking stylish is not.

The Jackson Home, originally located in Selma, Alabama, provided refuge and solace for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and others who worked, collaborated, strategized, and planned the Selma-to-Montgomery marches of 1965. The marches led to the signing of the Voting Rights Act on August 6, 1965, enshrining voting equality for all Americans as law.

There are myriad ways that we honor and preserve the memory of those we hold dear. Below is just a small sampling that shows how Americans have mourned and memorialized, from the colonial era until today.