African American Museum Leaders
I have always been fascinated with the study of history. I want to know how systems, institutions, beliefs, companies, etc. came to be. What was their trajectory? How does their yesterday pull through to today? That’s why I do alot of reading and enjoy spending time at museums and libraries. So when my husband said we had the opportunity to preview the Smithsonian’s new African American Museum of History and Culture, I was overly estatic. My very own nerd prom personified: going to the museum preview before the general public.
I’ve been in Washington D.C. for the past couple days soaking up all the excitement around this magnificent structure that houses so many artifacts and tries to tell the story of a rich people with a rich legacy that helped to build this unique country. Clearly, everything can’t be captured in this structure, massive though it may be. But they do a great job with the pertinent details. I am so proud of this for a number of reasons. First, being an African American woman who grew up in the Chicagoland area, the city of the first African American museum, the DuSable Museum, I’m like it’s so cool to be here representing! In addition to that, I am also the owner of the site of the first DuSable Museum on Michigan Ave, started by Dr. Margaret Burroughs. The story about how I became an owner is magical in itself and tied to a concept she spoke so eloquently about in her writings: legacy.
I too have family members who tried to preserve history and who were writers, playwrights, painters, sketchers, poets and had a love of the arts, which drew me into writing and ultimately to the house on Michigan. As I celebrate the opening of this museum, I bring with me all my ancestors who could have never conceived of such an accomplishment. My grandmother the teacher; my other grandmother who was a founding member of her Episcopal church; my grandfather, a Pullman porter and railroad man; my other grandfather, the poet, artist and hustler; my great, great aunt, the playwright, bed and breakfast owner, and chauffeur; my mother the banker and marketer; my father the Coast Guard man, accountant and F.B.I. Agent; my mother-in-law, the chaplain; my father-in-law, the Naval pilot; and my husband, the entrepreneur, artist and philanthropist. Our museum on the mall is one we can all lay claim to and cherish it for years to come.
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