The Dirksen Congressional Center in Pekin kicks off its 50th anniversary celebration with a public open house reception on Tuesday.
The event commemorates the exact day in 1975 when President Gerald Ford officially dedicated the nation’s only independent congressional research center and archive in honor of U.S. Sen. Everett Dirksen, a Pekin native.
The reception from 5-7 p.m. will showcase rarely seen documents and artifacts tied to the Dirksen Congressional Center’s history — from its original operations at the Pekin Public Library to its current home on Broadway Street that opened in 2003.
“The center has changed quite a lot in the past 50 years, and I would argue that that is a very good thing,” said Executive Director Tiffany White. “We are not publicly funded. We are not a part of, say, a university system like most congressional archives.
“So when an organization like ours is or is able to survive for 50 years, it's because each and every year, we think very critically about who we are, about what we have to offer, and what the public wants and needs from us, and that requires change.”
Dirksen represented Illinois in both the U.S. House and Senate for more than 40 years, rising to the position of Senate minority leader. He played a significant role in developing and passing the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that formally banned discrimination on the basis of race, religion, gender and national origin.
Typically not open to the public, the Dirksen Center primarily serves academic researchers. It also acts as a community resource in giving teachers access to documents for lessons on American history and government.
“We find unique ways to do our part in fulfilling our mission, which is to educate the public about Congress — and we do that for anybody at any age,” said White, who has served in her role for six years and is just the fourth executive director in the center’s history.
“I think it’s a testament to just the dedication to this institution that has been maintained by not just people like me who hold this position, but its board of directors. It is abundantly clear that every single person who has come before me serving this institution has done so with incredible care and loyalty and dedication.”
The center has been working on a two-year project to digitize the most significant parts of its collection, such as Dirksen’s working papers on civil rights.
“It's really hard to articulate in just a couple of sentences Everett Dirksen’s impact on our country, which I would argue is still felt today,” said White. “It's not just that he had a critical role in passing landmark legislation, but he was considered to be the personal embodiment of the institution of the United States Senate. I would argue that perhaps ... his greatest legacy is the character that was always on display, both for the public and behind the scenes in the work that he was doing.”
Future activities in honor of the center’s anniversary include scheduled group tours, community presentations and additional public events. A free pop-up museum featuring Dirksen memorabilia and photos will be shown Sept. 6-7 in the Mineral Springs Park pavilion during the Pekin Marigold Festival.
