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Civil Rights Museum Official Steps Down

The International Civil Rights Center and Museum in downtown Greensboro, N.C. (Credit: chucka_nc/Flickr Creative Commons) bit.ly/2q8rlnR

A top administrator has left the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro. The departure comes after a tumultuous period for the organization.

Bayard "Bay" Love was hired last March as chief operating officer and director of development. Museum officials say he was part-time and resigned to pursue other opportunities.

“It's something that happens in organizations. Sometimes, people move on to pursue other things that they want to do,” says John Swaine, CEO of the Civil Rights Museum. “We're working hard with a smaller staff than in the past to share the story behind this historic museum and engage with the community.”

The museum has faced financial issues since it's founding in 1994. The City of Greensboro offered to take over the organization in 2014, but the museum's board dismissed the proposal. The city has loaned the museum more than $1 million to help it stay afloat.

Melvin "Skip" Alston is co-founder of the organization and is a current board member for the museum. He says it's on solid financial footing.

“The financials are good. We will meet the city's obligations and we will meet all of our obligations, so the museum is stable,” says Alston. “We're focusing on our outreach efforts and have found more sponsors for events and fundraisers.”

Alston says the museum recently expanded its exhibit space and is partnering with organizations in other countries to expand programming. Around 70,000 people visited the museum last year.

The International Civil Rights Center and Museum is located in downtown Greensboro. It's the exact same spot where the civil rights sit-ins took place at the Woolworth's lunch counter in the 1960s. A special exhibit at the center commemorates the event.

*You can follow WFDD's Keri Brown on Twitter @kerib_news

Keri Brown is a multi-award winning reporter and host at 88.5 WFDD. She has been honored with two regional Edward R. Murrow awards for her stories about coal ash, and was named the 2015 radio reporter of the year by the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas (RTDNAC).Although she covers a variety of topics, her beats are environmental and education reporting.Keri comes to the Triad from West Virginia Public Broadcasting, where she served as the Chief Bureau Reporter for the Northern Panhandle. She produced stories for the state's Public Television and Radio programs and was honored by the West Virginia Associated Press Broadcasters Association for her feature and enterprise reporting.She also served as an adjunct instructor at Wheeling Jesuit University and Bethany College in West Virginia. She worked with the Center for Educational Technologies in Wheeling, WV, and other NASA centers across the country to develop several stories about the use of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) concepts in the classroom.Keri's journalism career began at WTRF-TV 7 in Wheeling. She worked in several roles at the station, including the head assignment editor. She also was a field producer and assignment manager at WPGH-TV Fox 53 in Pittsburgh.Keri is a graduate of Ohio University. When she's not in the studio or working on a story, she enjoys watching college football with her family, cooking, and traveling.Keri is always looking for another great story idea, so please share them with her. You can follow her on Twitter @kerib_news.

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