GSO council approves $2 million for civil rights museum building purchase

The Greensboro City Council has approved a measure to give $2 million to the International Civil Rights Center & Museum for an expansion. The council approved spending $1 million in a lump-sum payment this month and $250,000 over the next four years for the museum to buy an adjacent building.

The money is contingent on museum leaders providing additional information about the facilities' financing. 

Councilmember Justin Outling says the project is important for the city but financial details are needed.

“Greensboro, in my view, should be the foremost civil rights tourism destination in the country, even exceeding Atlanta, Memphis, because of what happened here,” he says. “So I absolutely love the concept.“

Museum leaders have told the city there is an urgency to the funding as they are trying to get the center listed among the sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

Guilford County commissioners have also agreed to give $2 million for the museum's plan. A spokesman for the museum says it should finalize the terms of the deal this month.