Henry Ford Museum was a great place to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. The activities scheduled for the day appealed to visitors of all ages. The museum was full of folks eager to enjoy the special things planned in honor of the holiday. There was an extra-added bonus of it being a Target Family Day, which meant no charge for admission. (The next Target Family Day is February 20.)

Award-winning civil rights historian Dr. Thomas Sugrue in a morning symposium presented “Driving While Black: The Struggle for Civil Rights on the Road.” Following his talk was a panel discussion with students from Henry Ford Academy.

Volunteers helped children make souvenir Rosa Parks Busses to take home.

There were three performances of “Minds on Freedom” during the day. It was an outstanding commentary in prose and song about the struggle for civil rights. In addition to a moving performance of Dr. King’s last speech, the performers brought the crowd to their feet as they invited everyone to sing along with the anthem of the civil rights movement: “We Shall Overcome.”

We worked our way through the With Liberty and Justice For All exhibit, remembering all of those brave men and women who throughout our county’s history fought for the right to be free.

In addition to taking a few peeks at what we could see of the new Driving America exhibition that is opening January 29, our last stop before heading home was a visit to the iconic Rosa Parks Bus.

Kristine Hass is a writer and a long-time member of The Henry Ford. She frequently blogs about her family’s visits to America’s Greatest History Attraction.