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Exhibition Reviews
Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture, 830 East Pratt St., Baltimore, MD 21202.
Permanent exhibitions, opened June 25, 2005. Tu–Su 10–5, closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, New Year's Day, and Easter Sunday. General admission $8, senior citizens and college students (with I.D.) $6, members' children 6 and under free, group rates available. 11,500 sq. ft. David Taft Terry, exhibition curator; Margaret Hutto, exhibitions coordinator; A. T. Stephens, director of education; Gallagher and Associates, exhibition designers; ExPlus, Inc., exhibition fabrication; the History Channel and Maryland Public Television, exhibition audiovisuals.
Orientation film, Experience a Journey 400 Years in the Making, produced by the Faith Project in association with the History Channel. 13 mins.
Teachers' packet: "An African American Journey: A Resource for Learning the History of African Americans in Maryland and the United States." The Lewis Museum (A. T. Stephens, director of education) in partnership with the Maryland State Board of Education, developer.
Internet: general information, photo gallery, text, video, education resources <http://www.africanamericanculture.org> (March 8, 2006)."A Slave Ship Speaks: The Wreck of the Henrietta Marie." The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum, 200 Greene St., Key West, FL 30040.
Temporary exhibition at Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture, June 25, 2005–Jan. 8, 2006. 3,500 sq. ft.
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| African American history museums encounter unique obstacles as they interpret the past. They have to answer skeptics who believe African American history is marginal to the nation's history. At the same time, staffs of such museums must carefully weigh whether they want to emphasize the destructive effects of slavery and racism or the resilience and vibrancy of African American community and culture. The Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture is the latest museum to attempt this balancing act. Located at the east end of Baltimore's Inner Harbor, the Lewis Museum was conceived, planned, and largely funded by the State of Maryland to educate its students, promote understanding, and enhance tourism. The exhibitions use artifacts, media, and graphics to explore the role of black Marylanders in the national movements for freedom and civil equality in ways that will reach a diverse audience and satisfy young and adult learners alike. The exhibits laud the achievements of individual black Marylanders but do not forget the communities that supported them. The Lewis Museum tells this story of racial uplift without sugarcoating the past, as the exhibits effectively illustrate the brutality of slavery and racism in several sections. |
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The state has provided the Lewis Museum a large measure of financial security to help it fulfill its challenging mission. Planning for the museum began in 1994 with the appointment of the Maryland Museum of African American History and Culture Commission. After hosting more than twenty focus groups with schools, museum professionals, educators, and communities across the state, the commission reaffirmed its commitment to establishing the museum. In 1998, the commission assumed its present-day name, the Maryland African American Museum Corporation, and appointed a thirty-two-member board of directors and an executive director. The museum then worked with the Maryland Department of Education to develop an African American curriculum for more than 850,000 students and a teacher training program for more than 50,000 teachers. In addition, the state mandated that the museum take responsibility for the preservation and interpretation of African American history and contribute to the state's heritage tourism efforts. To support these goals, the state has contributed $30 million to the construction of the museum and pledged to cover 75 percent of the museum's operating costs for its first three years of operations and 50 percent of operating costs thereafter. The City of Baltimore has issued a ninety-eight-year, dollar-a-year lease for the land where the museum sits. The museum has also received numerous gifts from private donors, including a $5 million endowment for its educational programs from the Reginald F. Lewis Foundation in 2002, the largest endowment gift ever given to an African American museum. The state then named the museum to honor Reginald F. Lewis, a native Marylander who owned tlc Beatrice Foods International. Lewis was the first African American to own a Fortune 500 company. He died in 1993, at the age of fifty, and the foundation continues his philanthropic work. |
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