The National Civil Rights Museum presents a special exhibition in honor of the black college football experience and rich tradition entitled, The Southern Heritage Classic: Celebrating 35 Years of an HBCU Memphis Tradition. The exhibition tells the story of Fred Jones Jr., the founder of the Southern Heritage Classic, and share his vision of sustaining and expanding the popularity of this annual cultural celebration held each year in September.

With 120 artifacts from Jones’ collection, the exhibition provides recaps and footage of the games, highlight collegiate football players who continued their careers into the NFL, spotlight the popular halftime “Battle of the Bands,” and the widely attended tailgate as well as the entertainment events which precede the game. This exhibition explores the origins of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in America, their connections to the Civil Rights Movement, the rise of black athleticism, and a journey through the Classic Weekend events that exemplify the rich culture uniquely inherent to Memphis. The exhibition is showing at the museum September 11, 2024 to February 28, 2025.