The Echo Project (Laurens, South Carolina)

African American Civil Rights Network

The Echo Theater in Laurens, South Carolina is an education center, museum, and multi-use community space. The theater is a project of The Echo Project, a nonprofit organization dedicated to standing against hatred, addressing racial inequality, and healing racial division. The Echo Project and its work to restore the Echo Theater has been supported by thousands of volunteers and donors from around the world.

The Echo Theater was a formerly segregated movie theater located in downtown Laurens, South Carolina. It is most well-known for its association with the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), the American Nazi Party, and the 25th Aryan Nations World Congress. Between 1996 and 2012, the Echo Theater was the site of the "World Famous Redneck Shop," a white supremacist storefront and KKK Museum. After decades of diligent community activism, the building was purchased by the New Beginning Missionary Baptist Church whose congregation had led protests against "The Redneck Shop".

The Echo Project became part of the African American Civil Rights Network in 2023.

The African American Civil Rights Network recognizes the African American Civil Rights Movement in the United States and the sacrifices made by those who fought against discrimination and segregation. Created by the African American Civil Rights Act of 2017, and coordinated by the National Park Service, the Network tells the stories of the people, places, and events of the U.S. African American Civil Rights Movement through a collection of public and private resources to include properties, facilities, and programs.