By Lisa R. Foeman

While Oprah Winfrey may have popularized the phrase “remembering our spirits,” it was Dr. Charles Wright who sought to soothe them through the live display of history.

The idea for the Museum of African American History (Detroit, MI), the world’s largest African American historical museum, originated in Dr. Wright’s own obstetrics and gynecology practice. According to Patricia Jaynes, Director of Public Relations and Marketing for the museum, Dr. Wright was “delivering physically healthy black babies some of whom grew up with unhealthy spirits because they didn’t have any sense of where they came from.” In response to this crisis, Dr. Wright founded the International Afro-American Museum (IAM) in 1965 as “a connecting fiber between Africa and African Americans.” Outgrowing its original quarters, IAM moved to a much larger facility in Detroit’s University Cultural Center in 1987 and changed its name to the Museum of African American History. Appreciating the significance of the museum, Detroit voters authorized the city to sell construction bonds to finance a larger building. On April 12, 1997, the museum opened the doors to its current 120,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility in Detroit’s Cultural Center, the city’s cultural and educational mecca.

Noted Jaynes, the mission of the museum is “to document, preserve, and educate the public about the life and history of African Americans.” The exhibits, therefore, are designed “to make those stories relevant, thought-provoking, inspiring and accessible.” Continued Jaynes, “It is one thing to tell a story, but why are you telling it is the question. Is it going to make a difference? You want to change people’s lives.”

Of the People: The African American Experience exemplifies the mission. Debuting with the opening of the present facility, this multimedia exhibit, featuring three-dimensional dramatizing stations, is the largest, comprehensive display on African American people ever in this country. The exhibit, which covers 16,000 square feet of space, spans some 400 years (1600’s – present) and is comprised of eight “historical stations”: African Memory, The Crime, Survival of Spirit, The Imperfect Union, Freedom and Betrayal, Urban Struggle/Urban Splendor, the Struggle for Empowerment, and Becoming the Future. The exhibit will close by the end of the year.

The African World Festival is a grand testament to the museum’s desire to educate the public about African Americans. Said Jaynes, the event’s purpose, “is to expand what we do as a museum and make it available to more people.” Available it is. Attended by over one million people annually, the festival, held every third weekend in August at downtown’s Hart Plaza, “deal[s] with Africa, African Americans and the African Diaspora,” stated Jaynes.

For Black History Month, the museum will unveil a new exhibit, Hair and African Art and Culture, that “explores all the meanings of hair and its importance in African culture and how it became important in African American culture.” We’ll see that our “new” hairstyles, aren’t so new afterall noted Jaynes.

Blessings to the Museum of African American History in its ongoing challenge to perpetuate Dr. Wright’s vision. For more information on the museum, visit its website at www.maah-detroit.org. M

February 2001