National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis names new president

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — The National Civil Rights Museum in Tennessee has named longtime educator and philanthropist Russell Wigginton as its next president.

The Memphis-based museum said Thursday that Wigginton will assume the role of president on Aug. 1 after a five-month national search.

Wigginton replaces Terri Lee Freeman, who announced her retirement in December.

Wigginton graduated from Memphis-based Rhodes College and has worked at the liberal arts school for 23 years as a history professor and senior-level administrator.

The museum is located on the grounds of the old Lorraine Motel, where the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was fatally shot in April 1968.