Association of African American Museums

Association of African American Museums
Name	Association of African American Museums
Abbreviation	AAAM
Formation	1978
Type	Nonprofit
Headquarters	Baltimore, Maryland
Region served	United States, Africa, Caribbean
Leader title	Executive Director
Leader name	Johnnetta Cole

Association of African American Museums is a professional membership organization that supports African American museums, history museums, cultural centers, historic sites, and heritage institutions across the United States, Africa, and the Caribbean. Founded by museum professionals and activists in the late 1970s, the organization connects curators, educators, directors, and conservators with resources, training, and advocacy to preserve African American material culture and public history. It collaborates with national and international institutions to elevate collections related to African diasporic experiences, including partnerships with major museums and universities.

History

The organization emerged during a period of institutional development following the Civil Rights Movement, when leaders such as Carter G. Woodson, Mary McLeod Bethune, W. E. B. Du Bois, Paul Robeson, and A. Philip Randolph influenced cultural preservation efforts. Early founding figures drew inspiration from institutions like the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution, National Archives and Records Administration, and Library of Congress. The group formed networks linking regional museums such as the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture, Detroit Historical Museum, DuSable Museum of African American History, Museum of African American History (Boston), and African American Museum in Philadelphia. It also engaged with historic sites including Montgomery Bus Boycott, Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail, Edmund Pettus Bridge, and Ain't I a Woman? commemorative projects. Internationally, the organization maintained ties with W. E. B. Du Bois Institute, Institute of African Studies (Ghana), National Museum of Ghana, Slave Route Project, and museums in Kingston, Jamaica, Port-au-Prince, and Lagos.

Mission and Activities

The association's mission emphasizes stewardship of collections, interpretation of African American history, and professional development for practitioners at institutions such as Harlem's Apollo Theater, Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site, The Hampton University Museum, Howard University Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, and Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site. Activities include curatorial workshops referencing practices from Metropolitan Museum of Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn Historical Society, and New-York Historical Society. The association advances ethical standards influenced by documents from American Alliance of Museums, International Council of Museums, and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It addresses collection challenges exemplified by objects connected to figures like Nat Turner, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, Sojourner Truth, and Marcus Garvey while coordinating with archives such as Amistad Research Center and Schomburg Center.

Programs and Services

Programs include conservation grants modeled after initiatives at Guggenheim Museum, Getty Conservation Institute, Knight Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, as well as fellowship programs similar to those at Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and Institute of Museum and Library Services. Services comprise training in exhibition development referencing exhibitions at National Portrait Gallery (United States), Whitney Museum of American Art, Studio Museum in Harlem, and Contemporary Arts Museum Houston. The association runs technical assistance in collections care using standards from Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts, National Center for Preservation Technology and Training, and partners with academic programs at Columbia University, Howard University, Yale University, Pratt Institute, and University of Maryland.

Membership and Governance

Membership includes directors, curators, educators, archivists, conservators, and trustees from institutions such as Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, National Civil Rights Museum, Apollo Theater Foundation, The Anacostia Community Museum, Spelman College Museum of Fine Art, and small community museums across Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, Louisiana, and South Carolina. The board often comprises professionals affiliated with American Alliance of Museums, Association of Art Museum Directors, Museum Directors' Council, Council of American Jewish Museums, and leaders from universities like Howard University, Spelman College, and Morehouse College. Governance structures follow nonprofit practice influenced by laws such as the National Historic Preservation Act and engage with funding bodies including National Endowment for the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, and Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Conferences and Events

Annual conferences convene professionals and scholars who have worked with projects like exhibitions on The Great Migration, Harlem Renaissance, Black Power movement, Civil Rights Movement, Reconstruction era, and commemorations tied to Juneteenth National Independence Day. Past conferences featured sessions led by representatives from National Museum of African American History and Culture, American Alliance of Museums, Getty Foundation, Ford Foundation, Open Society Foundations, and universities such as Duke University, University of Chicago, and University of California, Berkeley. Events include symposiums on topics related to leaders like Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Ida B. Wells, and Bayard Rustin and site visits to institutions including Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, National Civil Rights Museum, Lowndes County Interpretive Center, and Selma.

Partnerships and Advocacy

The association partners with cultural institutions and funders such as Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of African American History and Culture, Getty Foundation, Ford Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Knight Foundation, Open Society Foundations, National Endowment for the Humanities, and Institute of Museum and Library Services. It advocates for policy priorities alongside organizations like American Alliance of Museums, National Trust for Historic Preservation, NAACP, The Sentencing Project, Southern Poverty Law Center, and academic centers including Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture and Mellon Foundation-funded centers. Partnerships extend to museums abroad including the British Museum, Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, Aksum National Museum, and national heritage bodies in South Africa and Brazil.

Impact and Recognition

The organization has influenced exhibitions, collection care, and public programming that highlight narratives involving Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Frederick Douglass, Bessie Coleman, Jackie Robinson, Duke Ellington, Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, and Augusta Savage. It has received recognition through awards and citations from institutions such as the American Alliance of Museums, National Endowment for the Humanities, Museum Computer Network, and academic honors tied to Columbia University and Howard University. The association's work contributed to landmark initiatives including the development of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, restitution dialogues involving collections at the British Museum, and regional revitalization projects in cities like Baltimore, Atlanta, New Orleans, Chicago, and Detroit.

Category:Museum associations Category:African American cultural institutions