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 September 2006
Contact: William Billingsley 937-376-4944, ext. 123 or wbillingsley@ohiohistory.org IMLS Contact: Eileen Maxwell 202-653-4632 or emaxwell@imls.gov Wilberforce, Ohio - Thanks to a grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the Association of African American Museums (AAAM) will produce a “National Profile of African American Museums,” based on a comprehensive survey and analysis project. Since the emergence of the African American museum movement in the 1950s and 1960s, numerous new historical and cultural institutions have been established to preserve the heritage of the Black experience and to ensure its proper interpretation in American history. The AAAM project will identify these institutions, document their existing programs and services, and develop a plan to more effectively address their needs through professional training and development activities. Funding will support the design, testing, and implementation of the survey, in addition to the publication of a directory of African American historical and cultural institutions, the creation of a customized membership management database for AAAM to organize and manage the survey data, and enhanced online services for member organizations. “A National Profile of African American Museums will provide our Association with an opportunity to identify many African American museums that exist in the United States and to organize critical information in one database that will be used to benefit the museum field,” stated Dr. Lawrence J. Pijeaux, Jr., President of AAAM. In 2003, the National Museum of African American History and Culture Act authorized IMLS, in consultation with the Council and Director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAHHC), to create a new grant program to strengthen African American museum services. Museum Grants for African American History and Culture are intended to build professional capacity in the African American museum community. They provide opportunities for African American museums to design projects that will enhance institutional capacity and sustainability through professional training, networking and mentoring opportunities, technical assistance, outside expertise, and other tools. “I am pleased to announce the inaugural Museum Grants for African American History and Culture. Today’s grants will benefit African American museums nationwide and close to 100 staff members, from interns to museum directors, who will gain expertise in audience and exhibition development, educational programming, adopting technology, management and marketing, and more,” commented IMLS Director, Dr. Anne-Imelda M. Radice. Eight grants, totaling $803,230 will provide opportunities for the staff of African American museums across the country to gain knowledge and abilities in the areas of management, operations, programming, collections care and other museum skills. “Heritage Keepers: A Leadership Initiative for African American Museums,” a collaborative project between AAAM and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute was funded for $131,000. This project will provide professional development opportunities for African American museum professionals. A complete listing of the recipients with descriptions of the grant projects can be found online at www.blackmuseums.org or www.imls.gov. The Institute of Museum and Library Services is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s 122,000 libraries and 17,500 museums. Its mission is to grow and sustain a “Nation of Learners” because life-long learning is essential to a democratic society and individual success. Through its grant making, convenings, research and publications, the Institute empowers museums and libraries nationwide to provide leadership and services to enhance learning in families and communities, sustain cultural heritage, build twenty-first-century skills, and increase civic participation. To learn more about the Institute, please visit: http://www.imls.gov. # # # AAAM is a non-profit member organization established to support African and African American focus museums nationally and internationally, as well as the professionals who protect, preserve and interpret African and African American art, history and culture. The Web site for AAAM is www.blackmuseums.org.  |
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