ATLANTA — The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has announced on Thursday a five-year, $17 million grant to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in downtown Atlanta to fund the Center's new three-story West Wing.
According to a release from the Center, an additional $2 million will be dedicated to new programming geared to connecting our racial history to the present, bring diverse groups together, and make progress through conversation and leadership.
The new wing will include a 2,700 square-foot gallery on the lobby level to engage families and children, a 2,500 square-foot gallery to showcase the Without Sanctuary Collection of postcards of lynching and anti-lynching artifacts, gallery space for temporary and visiting exhibitions, and a 900 square-foot cafe, according to the Center's release. The top floor will host the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Papers.
“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,” said Blank Family Foundation chairman Arthur M. Blank. “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.”
The additional capital expansion and programming will provide the opportunity for the Center to scale its work around civil and human rights, and continuing to elevate the Center into a national leadership role.
“Arthur Blank invested in the idea of an Atlanta-based National Center for Civil and Human Rights more than a decade ago, before we had a building, and has been a champion ever since,” said Jill Savitt, CEO of The Center. “This generous gift allows us to expand our vision – to be a national organization working to help people tap their own power to change the world and to live with purpose. We hope Arthur Blank’s leadership investment invites others to join us in promoting fairness and dignity for all.”
Including the newly-announced commitment, The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation has provided more than $20 million to the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. This includes an initial $1.5 million grant for construction of The Center in 2013, according to the release.
Blank, in his role as owner of the Atlanta Falcons, hosted the annual NFL Owners Gala at the Center when Atlanta hosted Super Bowl LIII in 2019. He has also pledged his proceeds from his recently published book Good Company to the Center in perpetuity.