Local Black Museums Need Our Support
Dr. Maya Angelou once said,
For Africa to me…is more than a glamorous fact. It is a historical truth. No man can know where he is going unless he knows exactly where he has been and exactly how he arrived at his present place.
Heritage-based museums allow for communities to gather over common bonds and for outsiders to learn and participate in respectful ways. Writer and critical sociologist Dr. Robyn Autry notes in a 2012 article that Black American museums, in particular, are noteworthy due to their resilience in the face of dire financial constraints, white domestic terrorism, and pressure to embrace assimilation.
The oldest Black museum in the United States was established in 1868 at the College Museum (now Hampton University Museum) in Hampton, Virginia. According to the Association of African American Museums (AAAM), there are over 300 Black-owned, operated, and/or focused archives, libraries, galleries, historical societies, and cultural centers across the country, mostly concentrated along the East and Gulf coasts. In an explosive 2014 study conducted by the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity, researchers found that only 7.4 percent of total philanthropic giving in the United States was dedicated to people of color. In order to meet operating budgets, retain talented staff, and grow their collections, Black museums need financial and physical support.
#BlackMuseumsMatter
The International Afro-American Museum, now known as the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History was founded in 1965 by Dr. Charles H. Wright, an OBGYN. As stated by the Detroit Historical Society, inspired by a memorial for Danish World War II heroes, Dr. Wright established the museum so that African Americans could document, preserve, become educated about, and take pride in their culture and history.
As decades went by, the Museum exponentially grew in size and interest despite countless threats of closure due to lack of funding. A 2007 paper written by Randall A. Williams and Michael Worth from George Washington University states:
“…African American museums are under funded due to historical barriers, cultural preferences for charitable giving, institutional youth, and a dearth of professional business and museum skills.”
Through all of its challenges, until the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. in 2016, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History was the world’s largest institution dedicated to the African-American experience.
Home to over 35,000 artifacts, The Wright remains the largest first voice institution of its kind. First voice institutions are founded and maintained by groups of people that the subject matter revolves around. These kinds of organizations are important because they provide unfiltered cultural insight into their communities and convey nuances that others telling their stories cannot. According to a 1981 article written by scholar and Temple University Professor of History Bettye Collier-Thomas,
…Thus, a society which defines a given group as inferior is unable to give positive recognition to individual or group achievements.
Although each organization has its own mission and vision, they all operate under the same fundamental belief: everyone deserves to have their full story told. By honoring that right, insiders develop more confidence in who they are, and outsiders become better spectators, supporters, and allies.
Reframing our education
Let’s visit a common refrain from any given Black History Month lesson over the past 40 years.
Mrs. Rosa Parks, a quiet, respectable middle-aged Black seamstress is on her way home after a long, hard day at work. Sitting on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama, she is told to give up her seat to a white man. Deciding that she is too tired to comply, she refuses to give up her seat and is arrested. The unassuming Parks goes on to become a symbol of the civil rights movement, and her arrest sparks the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
In reality, prior to the boycott, Rosa Parks was a lifelong, radical advocate for the civil rights of African-Americans. A woman who described Malcolm X as her personal hero, she was a leader in her local chapter of the NAACP and was arrested again only a couple of weeks after this particular incident. The whitewashing of her life is just one example of why Black educational institutions are critical to the fabric of society. In many ways, the research and presentations these museums provide are superior to those developed under federal and local education systems.
Black museums changed my life, even though I’m already Black
Every year until I finished high school, my father would take my baby sister, our friends, and me to The Wright. We’d spend hours going through the maze of galleries, listening to storytellers, and being cooed at by the tour guides. I was absolutely a museum kid who grew into a museum adult, which is probably why I jumped at the chance to do work-study in the Hampton University Museum during my junior year.
Not unlike a large swath of Hamptonians, I was a legacy student, meaning that generations of my family before me attended the university. Somehow, knowing this didn’t prepare me for the academic and spiritual journey I would go on as an assistant in the Museum archives. More than once I have stumbled on relics of my family’s past and friends’ families’ pasts— report cards, final exams, and pictures, just to name a few. I’ve also helped academics from around the world access information that only we offered. My experiences in the archives set me on the path to pursue a career at my local Black museum, the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.
On a particularly dreary summer day, my third day working at The Wright, the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin passed away after a long battle with cancer. Hours after the announcement, the Franklin family requested that her body lay in state in our rotunda, and leadership agreed. Working in the Marketing department just months after graduation, I was absolutely sure that we were going to be thrust into chaos because nobody was prepared for the loss. While it was a whirlwind, I couldn’t have been more wrong. Not only did we hit the ground running to host this weekend-long event, sure to draw crowds of tens of thousands of people, but we began to build an exhibition dedicated to Ms. Franklin’s legacy that day as well.
It was at that moment I truly understood that as a Black, first voice institution we were uniquely qualified to give Ms. Franklin a homegoing that befits her stature as a global musical icon, civil rights champion, and daughter of Detroit. Since that day, I’ve met countless celebrities, leaders, and everyday people who’ve molded and expanded my mind beyond its original capacity.
How to get the masses to care
From the visitor's standpoint, museums as a whole are already a hit or miss. According to Graham Black’s 2005 book, The Engaging Museum: Developing Museums for Visitor Involvement,
Access was almost grudgingly provided to the public in return for a sense of reverence and gratitude, reflected in an authoritarian protection of the site — “temple” architecture, cordoned routes, glass cases, security guards, ‘do not touch’ signs, etc.
However, both museum professionals and audiences alike have abandoned this culture, and museums are far more customer-driven and community-serving than in the past.
Unfortunately, many people don’t know much about their local Black museums — where they’re located, who they’re run by, if they’re in need, or even that they exist. For these people, it’s important to meet them where they’re at. When interest is low or nonexistent, it’s critical for museums to offer no strings attached perks through corporate partnerships like free admission days, or comp tickets to special events.
Problem-aware people know that something is missing from their lives and that something bigger than themselves is at stake. They want to learn, to be fulfilled, and to be in a community with others but don’t know their options or how to start. Museums must reiterate and affirm that this problem is real. They are valuable and need help! At this stage, whether online or in-person, offering every tangible solution like volunteering, making a donation, or becoming a member is wise, and if their interest is still there, move forward.
Once a person is presented with options to support their local Black museum, it’s up to them to decide which avenue best fits their life. Free virtual tours, impact measuring tools, and volunteer testimonials are extremely effective at giving someone a taste of the Museum experience without spoiling it.
After watching the videos, buying the tickets, visiting the facility, and speaking with the employees, it’s on the institution to make its final impression. They must prove to the visitor that actively supporting Black museums benefits not only their personal lives through increased knowledge, but society as a whole. As centers of cultural preservation, community strengthening, and entertainment, the museum must convince the visitor that something is missing from their lives unless they fully buy-in through volunteerism, membership, or repeated financial support.
The most valuable visitor is the advocate. Nothing spreads faster than word of mouth communication, and these people make it easy. They purchase museum apparel for themselves and as gifts, rent the facility to host private events, forward emails and social media posts to their networks, and visit with guests. What’s the best way of retaining their support? Make it as easy and rewarding as possible for them to engage, especially in the age of COVID-19. With free programming, mobile apps, volunteer recognition, exclusive content, discounts, and more, lifelong donorship is almost guaranteed.
Final thoughts
Few countries on the earth struggle as much as the U.S. does when it comes to reconciling the past and making way for others to succeed in the future. We are only as educated as our least educated citizens and owe it to each other to lift as we climb. To that end, Black-owned, operated, and/or focused institutions deserve as much recognition, funding, and praise as they can get for their work, the resources they provide, and the lives they change. It is my hope that this goal is realized before too many of our Black museums close their doors.