The E.D. Nixon Institute for Research and Cultural Enrichment was founded in 2001 by The National Center for the Study of Civil Rights and African-American Culture at Alabama State University. Named in memory of the “Father of the modern Civil Rights Movement,” Dr. Edgar Daniel Nixon was a Montgomery native and pioneering civil rights advocate whose work in the area of civil rights is legendary. Nixon was a devoted activist and president of the Montgomery, as well as the Alabama chapters of the NAACP. Beginning in the 1940s, he made his mark as a serious and committed champion for the equal rights of African-Americans. The E.D. Nixon Institute for Research and Cultural Enrichment is held each year during the third week of April.