Established in 1996, the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum commemorates Civil Rights activities led by local leaders such as Dr. Ralph M. Gilbert, Wesley W. Law, Hosea Williams, Mayor Malcolm MacLean and countless others including hundreds of school children. The home-driven movment was so successful that Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr once proclaimed "Savannah was the most integrated city south of the Mason-Dixon line."

The building that houses the Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum was built in 1914 as the Wage Earners Saving and Loan Bank by black Atlanta contractor, Robert Pharrow.

Dr. Ralph Mark Gilbert was the father of Savannah's modern-day Civil Rights Movements and fearless NAACP leader that was known for much more than his outspoken campaigns for Civil Rights. He was nationally-known orator, pupiteer and playwright, producing religious dramas throughout the country.

Westley Wallace Law was an historian and civil rights activist. He became the president of the Savannah branch of the NAACP in 1950. He orchestrated the Civil Rights movement of the 50s and 60s in Savannah. The Ralph Mark Gilbert Civil Rights Museum was brought about by his vision.