News-Record.com

"The international designation must not be seen as a pie-in-the-sky dream. Leaders must go beyond their provincial base and find supporters from around the world."

When the "leaders" have soaked the local taxpayers for all they will stand for,then go to other countries and beg for funds. This is how I read this. The civil rights museum has little public support due to the fact that the large majority see the "leadership" of this project as little more than thieves who are unaccountable for the funds that have been allocated thus far.

To my knowledge,Georgr Elliot has not dropped one dime on this project. Quote him all you want,but I doubt he was talking about the public being ripped off to support a money pit of a pet project this museum has become.

How many "international" dollars have been solicited? How many "international" dollars could be expected? As implied, until something happens with the current leadership, the general local public will not support this boondoogle as it stands.

While the museum is good in principle, the track record of the present leadership is questionable at worst; disgraceful at best. Change the leadership to an "international" flavor and see what public reaction happens.

Shalom

Quick, call Kofi Annan and rush in the blue helments to fix the basement. That will give it an international flavor and probably take 17 resolutions over 3 decades. Maybe his son Kojo can get some kickbacks under the table too.

First, George Eliot was a woman - a British Victorian novelist (1821-1880). She is credited with beginning the era of the contemporary novel, and had to resort to using a male pseudonym in order to get published and reviewed with any degree of seriousness.

Second, it really is sad that Greensboro has/had the potential to turn its historical 'lemons into lemonade' but has not embraced this project. Granted, it takes two to embrace, and the offer may not have been reciprocated. But recognizing this event and this place are long overdue, regardless of who is 'in charge.'

Too often people who are closest to and most passionate about a project eventually need to step back and entrust it to experienced professionals. It's hard to do, but it is an act of love and trust to yield for the greater good.

I feel we do need the museum, that there are indeed outside interests which could be sought and which, I think, would be eager to help this project of national historical significance come to fruition.

I think there's a parallel between the lack of outside funding for the Civil Rights Museum and Guilford County's reputation for poor administration.

There was an article in the Rhino Times this week about Architectural firms not bidding on a County Project. One bid was submitted when there should have been several. Some non-bidding competing firms were interviewed and the overall theme of why they did not bid was that Guilford County goverment cannot be trusted to keep their end of the deal.

I think that attitude bleeds over into dealing with the Civil Rights Musuem leadership.

Do you actually believe that folks are going to flock to G’boro to look at some stools ,a counter , some pictures and a few newspaper clippings? Oh I suppose a few other items could be added here and there to “fill up the space”.
Face it, G’boro is not a vacation destination, much less an international destination, never has been and never will be. No amount of money put down the current rat hole by the current “Ali Babba” and the gang of thieves is going to make the “museum a vacation destination.
Do you actually think that people will exit off the interstate, drive through endless stop lights to get to a downtown that offers no real parking? It’s a pipe dream. The dream has become a nightmare and it is time to exorcise the root of the nightmare and move on.
Stop feeding the large” sucking hole”, pack up the stools, counter, pictures and ship them to the Smithsonian where thousands of people will see them each year and then the world will know that G’boro was indeed a part of the civil rights struggle and perhaps then the proper recognition will to those who have waited so long.

Produce, I think the counter and stools are already on display in the Smithsonian in DC.

The project either needs to be completed now or brought to an end. Sell the building and let it become a vibrant part of the Main Street boom, instead of the eyesore and blight it continues to be.

It's amazing to me that in the time the "International" Civl Rights museum has been 'remodeling' Woolworth, private funding was able to move the Chancellor's House at UNCG to another spot, recondition the building, and have it up and running as a viable entity.

Shows what leadership means.

Then Hugh, why is all the money being spent to repair a sinking building? Good thing the counter and stools are not in G'boro in the wet basement getting ruined. Maybe they need to fill the basement with concrete, form a base and make a parking lot out of it. This fiacso has been going on how many years now, 10 15 years? It didn't take that long to build rebuild Atlanta after Sherman marched through.
I am sure that there are many more uses for the building downtown than an "internatioinal" museum.

maybe, *ahem* the "internationals" could possibly be people from mexico?
Skip could get a truckload of illegals for practically nothing, and he KNOWS it.
Sorry for the stereotype, it was meant in good fun/pun. *ahem*

I'm wondering how N&R's staff missed the masculine pronoun referring to George (aka Mary Ann Evans) Eliot in the above column. Surely they took freshman English? ;)

Maybe they decided not to do any more correcting after the flap over the "edited" TRC letter.

ya reckin, Missy. Even a old cuntry boy lak me knowd that thar riter dun mistuk a she fer a he. Weuns larned that in da 8 grade primer. Wunder ifn they went to skool hear bouts. Or is they frum sumwhars els. ferriners, ye no.

International, yeah right! Like the airport is the Piedmont Triad International airport.

I didn't know George was a she. Of course, I'm not sure I knew who George Eliot was at all.

I remember the sitins and the marches. I was in high school at Greensboro Senior High..or it may have been already changed to Grimsley by then. That was a scary time for Greensboro..but, at the same time, a wonderful thing. It's amazed that that the museum has been planned for so long. With such an important event as the sitins, why has the museum not been completed? I *think* I read some things about mis-management of funds. Whatever the reason, it needs to be finished. And, yes, I think the letter writer's suggestion about other oppressed people being represented is appropriate. Native Americans comes to mind. I don't think my particular oppressed group will ever be represented, especially in the south. My new state, however, has recently voted to recognize our marriages if Ahnold doesn't veto it. Peace.