Toyi-Toying in Birmingham: The Challenges of Global Antiapartheid Commemoration

This article examines the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute's (BCRI) human rights exhibitions and the site's interpretation of the South African antiapartheid movement. How and why does an institution ostensibly dedicated to the history of the US civil rights movement choose to represent apartheid? What might a transnational public history of apartheid look like, and what are the challenges? How do the BCRI's transnational exhibits reflect the site's notions of the United States' role in world history? These global exhibits offer insight into how public historical narratives are shaped by the interplay of philosophy, mission, and institutional needs.