Staff Reports - The Commercial Appeal -

They are called challenge grants for good reason, particularly in this down economy.

And the National Civil Rights Museum would appear to have a major challenge ahead in securing a three-for-one match to a $750,000 grant announced last week from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

The museum, however, is well-suited to meet the challenge, and officials are naturally ecstatic about the NEH grant. And why not? They have a fabulous story to tell.

Located at the Lorraine Motel Downtown, site of the 1968 assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Civil Rights Museum has become an authentic Memphis treasure that has welcomed more than 5 million visitors since it opened.

The museum, which next year will observe its 20th anniversary, pays special and appropriate homage to the life and death of Dr. King and the events surrounding the civil rights movement.

The NEH grant will create the museum's first permanent endowment, and will ensure that the museum and its important educational programs will endure for generations to come.