DEARBORN, Mich. (WXYZ) — The Henry Ford announced Monday a $5 million commitment from the Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation to restore a home that played a crucial role for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and other activists during the 1965 marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama.
The Jackson House in Selma was the home of Dr. and Mrs. Sullivan Jackson.
On March 15, 1965, Dr. King watched President Johnson’s historic “We Shall Overcome" speech at the home which previewed what later became the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
"The Henry Ford believes in the power of immersing our guests in the stories and artifacts that reflect ordinary people who did extraordinary things to change our world," said Patricia Mooradian, president and CEO of The Henry Ford. "This humble home represents a place of great change in our country. We thank the Erb Family Foundation for its support and generosity in helping this institution preserve this important structure and ensure it is experienced by millions of people from all over the world, every year."
In 2022, The Henry Ford says Jawana Jackson, the daughter of the Jackson’s and owner of the Jackson House, contacted the museum to request that the home be permanently relocated to The Henry Ford in Dearborn.
Acquired this year, the home will be relocated this fall to Michigan and in 2026 it will be permanently placed in Greenfield Village.
"We believe this project comes at a time that resonates all too much with what our parents witnessed in the 60s, as our country is experiencing increasing efforts to erase Black history and the contributions that Black Americans, like those of the Jackson family and other civil rights activists. My parents would be so proud to see the Foundation helping to uplift these stories and inspire a better and stronger future for this generation and ones to come,” said John Erb, president and chair, Fred A. and Barbara M. Erb Family Foundation.
The Jackson House will join over 80 historic buildings and structures at Greenfield Village.
