New Michigan Museum Reveals Ugly Truth About Racism [VIDEO]

The ugliness of racism is on display at a new museum on the campus of Ferris State University in Big Rapids. The Jim Crow Museum of Racist Memorabilia opened last week, and features thousands of troubling artifacts, including whips, chains, and signs which once dictated where African Americans could sit, or even get a drink.

David Pilgrim, the museum's curator and founder says the museum is designed to teach tolerance, not glorify racism.

"If you hear about the museum, then you form opinions in the abstract, and that's very different from what happens with people that actually visit the facility," he says. "They really get it. They understand what it is. ... We're not a shrine to racism, any more so than a hospital is a shrine to disease."

The museum took eight years and more than $1 million to create. Admission is free.

[NPR/WZZM]