The “New Birth of Freedom” exhibit in our Orange County Agricultural and Nikkei Heritage Museum is a look at the tumultuous history of race in Southern California during the civil rights movement. The exhibit features oral histories and firsthand accounts of the era from people that lived through it.

The focus of most civil rights history is on the events in the Southern United States, while the struggles of people in Southern California go largely unnoticed. Housing in Southern California was very discriminatory, and many people could not gain fair treatment when it came to owning or renting property in the area.

This exhibit will open your eyes to an entirely different take on the civil rights efforts in this country and help you gain a new respect for the people that lived here mere decades ago. The exhibit is open on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from now through May 2012.

Check out your picket sign!