AY 24 - 30,1987
e
DETROIT-(hler 7,000 per-
o gathered in the city's cal­
tural center to celebrate the
grand opening of the De
Museum of African American
ory ciIity during five
da of festivi .
otabl an i co non fo
alike re drawn from acr
the city, state and Canada for
the opening ceremonies which
ranged from b ck- ie recep­
tion to church and familiy
celebrations,
Dr. David Milburn, who
served on the useum ecu­
tive board and chairper-
on of the economic develop­
men committee during the
transiti n from the old facility
to the n , congratulated
ayor Coleman Young for
making "all of this possible.·
Our )'Or provided the
funds for the new facility, an­
nu budget, and supporting
taff,. urn said ·Attorney
Bella arshaIl, Detroit's
finance director; Emmett
ote ceo omic develop-
men director; Betty Allen,
. orieal useum deputy
director; d useum' Aer
ting Dire or ancy Allen
f cili ted process of put­
ting the useum on sound d-
. . footing."
Highlight of opening dayac­
. .. and ao d pleaser, was
e of the Underground
Railro d Exhibit, developed
by Donald Vest and the late
o
. urn, who 0 se
chair of the Underground
Railro d Families Historical
Foundatio noted that the
useum gre from the
dreams of 34 original founders
and urvived to flourish with
upport from peop e such
Catherine Blackwell,. Dr.
Elizabeth Hood, Donald Vest,
Juanit Lynch, Larry Wilker­
so Judge Craig Strong,
Shahida usi, Eward Cody,
Atty. Denise Lewis, Dennis
Talbert, Dr. Charles Wright,
Robert Shannon, Eugene Gil­
more, Vernon Sims, Jackie
ashington, Billie Vanleer,
orman Dillard and Dr.
Phylis Robinson,
ese brothers and sisters
recognized that a need existed
for re . tory for the art and
artifacts of people of African
cent, " urn said in tes-
timony. ey knew that the
n . on d failed to pay due
'respect to the history, achieve-
ats d culture of Black
peop and thoy sought to
remedy this condition,"
"The goal of the Museum
to give an accurate sense
of identity and worth to the
Bla American citizen, by
demonstrating the quality and
depth of Bla contributions
to rld culture and to
replace the distortion of the
role of B cks in history by
o
•
I
DR. CHAR-
LES Wright,
nter, th
Donald Vest
and I other
grand opening
celeb
than 60,000.
"The new Museum of
African American History has
evolved, in keeping with the
many different elements of
programming and display with
which the Museum is in­
volved," Milburn commented
"It will serve as a multi-faceted
opportunity and experience
for all ages and ethnic groups."
The Museum of African
American History is located at
the comer of Brush and
Frederick Douglass Street, in
Detroit's Cultural Center: FOT
church, family, group, and in­
dividual toUTS, call 313/833-
9800.
(/
a
documenting facts heretofore
unknown 0 unaccepted," Mil­
burn said
On January 30, 1966, the
Museum opened at 1549 West
Grand Blvd- less than a year
after the original 34 founders
organized on March 10, 1965.
embership fees and dona­
tions were used as the source
of operating funds ..
The Museum's first exhibit
ent on display at the ation­
al Conference of Educators
meeting at the University of
Detroit. It presented the brief
history and long range goals of
the Museum. Later in 1966,
the Museum acquired a non­
profit charter from the State
of Michigan, and later was
granted a tax-exempt status by
the federal government,
Over the years, the
Museum has collected, ex­
hibi ed and preserved artifacts
and resource materials on
many pects of African and
African American life and his­
tory.
It has been the recipi nt of
several donations that have sig­
nificantly expanded its collec­
tion of art d artifacts.
The useum also engages
in programs and activities
designed to expand public
-awareness of Black achi ve­
meats and issues affecting the
Bla community.
The useum has prepared
over 400 exhibits; commis­
ioned and exhibited works by
ocal and nationally known
Black artists; produced films,
television specials and a wee -
ly radio program; conducted
orkshop and lecture seri es
and created a mobile museum
that travels throughout the
state.
Additionally, it has dev-
oped an extensive library of
resource materials, some of
them rare, on Africa and
African American history.
The collection of materials
on the life of Paul Robeson is
second only to the Robeson ar­
chives t Howard University.
The Oral History collection
contains invaluable tape
recordings of the recollections
of Black Americans from
many walks of life and from
many parts of the country.
Over the years, the
useum's collections and ac­
tivities have grown until the
loca 'on, a three-unit housing
terrace on Grand Blvd, was
no longer adequate to proper­
ly display present and future
exhibits, provide storage space
for its art and artifacts in
climatically controled environ­
ment, provide space for its
staff and reference library.
Probably no fact better il­
lustrated the need for larger
quarters, than the numbers of
school children who annually
toured the facility - more