Tuskegee, Alabama's civil rights history has been a well kept secret, until now.

A new history museum and visitor center in downtown Tuskegee will open to the public this year.

The Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center will tell and showcase Tuskegee and Macon County, Alabama's rich history. Tuskegee, well known as the training site of the Tuskegee Airmen, is lesser known as the birthplace of Rosa Parks.

Tuskegee, well known as the place associated with the notorious Tuskegee Syphilis Study, is lesser known as the place of 1960s college student protests and is the site associated with a landmark U. S. Supreme Court case on voting rights. Tuskegee, well known as the historic home of Tuskegee Institute, now Tuskegee University, is lesser known as the place of state intervention at the time of local school desegregation.

These, and other little known history facts are now being told and on display for the world to see at the Tuskegee Human and Civil Rights Multicultural Center. The museum has interactive exhibits, a second floor area for living history programs, and a place to shop for civil rights related videos, DVDs and other items.

The Center has been designated the official visitor center for Macon County and for the city of Tuskegee.