The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute recently announced its 19-member board of directors, who will help fulfill its Vision 2020 strategic plan.
An affiliate of the Smithsonian Institute and part of the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument, the BCRI is a cultural and educational research center that hopes to enlighten each generation about civil and human rights by exploring the past to build a better future.
To become a board member, individuals go through a five-month process. Board members’ nominations are reviewed for prior community service and board experience, leadership in the civil and human rights community and specialized skills in key professions.
The following are the newly elected BCRI board members: Cassandra Adams of Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law, Tamera Coyne-Beasley of the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Nyesha Cheyenne Black of Noire Analytics, William Burgess III of The Burgess Group, Yolanda Clayton of Clayton and Associates LLC, Robert Dickerson of Birmingham Resource Center, Daryl Grant of KPMG Advisory Services, Rosilyn Houston of BBVA USA, Danny Markstein of Markstein, Angela McKenzie of Regions Bank, J. John Oros Jr. of the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau, Jonathan Porter of Alabama Power, Richard Rice of The Rice Firm LLC, John Saxon of John D. Saxon PC, David Thomas of Starbucks, Gwendolyn Webb of Hopewell Missionary Baptist Church and Foot Soldiers International Inc. and Thomas Wilder Jr. of Bethel Baptist Church.
As part of its Vision 2020 plan, the BCRI seeks to increase its annual attendance numbers, promote the success of the developing Civil Rights National Monument, facilitate programming that optimizes the Institute’s own education, cultural and archival assets, and build a financially self-sufficient and nationally significant sustainable institution.
“We are confident that this new board is capable and committed to help navigate an increasingly challenging environment in the nonprofit arts and cultural sector,” said Andrea Taylor, BCRI president and CEO. “These individuals represent a diverse scope of experience, expertise and local and national reach that will propel BCRI into the future.”
BCRI reaches more than 150,000 individuals through teacher education, group tours, outreach programs, after-school and public programs, exhibitions and archival collections.
