The New Orleans African American Museum Of Art History And Culture
was founded in 1996 under the guidance and extensive support of the City of New Orleans Department of Housing and Neighborhood Development.
NOAAM is located in the Tremé section of New Orleans, a neighborhood that was home to the nations largest, most prosperous and politically progressive community of black people by the mid-1850s.
In the 18th century, the land was occupied by the Morand Plantation and brickyard, which was later acquired by hat maker and real estate developer Claude Tremé. In 1810, Tremé sold the land to the city of New Orleans, and it became home to many free persons of color. Congo Square, was a gathering place for free persons and slaves to gather, play music, and sell goods.
Tremé is unique in its architecture, its streets are a gumbo of double shotgun houses, Creole cottages and townhouses. An excellent example of Creole architecture is the Meilleur-Goldthwaire House, a villa built in 1828 which makes up part of the NOAAM campus. The New Orleans African American Museum is situated near the St. Augustine Church, one of the oldest African-American Catholic parishes in the nation, and two other museums that center black culture and contribution: the Backstreet Cultural Museum and Tremés Petit Jazz Museum.
Currently the museum is operating out of the administrative building located at 1417 Governor Nicholls St, as we work to fundraise and reopen our entire historic campus.
Since our grand re-opening in April 2019:
List Of Museums In Louisiana
This list of museums in Louisiana is a list of museums, defined for this context as institutions that collect and care for objects of cultural, artistic, scientific, or historical interest and make their collections or related exhibits available for public viewing. Museums that exist only in cyberspace are not included. Also included are non-profit and university art galleries.
Where Can I Find Black History Museums Near Me
Across the United States, the cultural history and heritage of Black and African Americans is preserved in museums, through historical societies, and by tireless local activists and volunteers.
Below is a state-by-state list of locations where you can find Black history museums and/or delve into African African history in your local area.
Alabama
National Voting Rights Museum and Institute, SelmaThe Legacy Museum: From Enslavement to Mass Incarceration / The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Birmingham
AlaskaIn the absence of a dedicated Black history museum in Alaska, the University of Alaskas Consortium Library is a good resource, as is this article spotlighting African American history in Anchorage.ArizonaGeorge Washington Carver Museumm, Phoenix.ArkansasMosaic Templars Center, Little Rock.CaliforniaCalifornia African American Museum, Los AngelesMuseum of the African Diaspora, Los AngelesColoradoBlack American West Museum, DenverConnecticut
Reginald F. Lewis Museum, BaltimoreHoward County Center of African American Culture, Columbia
MassachusettsMuseum of African American History, Boston
MichiganTuskegee Airmen National Historical Museum, DetroitThe Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit
MinnesotaMinnesota African American Heritage Museum & Gallery, Minneapolis
MississippiMississippi Civil Rights Museum and Museum of Mississippi History, Jackson
NebraskaGreat Plains Black History Museum, Omaha
Oregon
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Get To Know The People And Places Of Louisiana That Played Important Roles In African
The African House at Melrose Plantation is a national historic landmark.
A cotton plantation founded by a former slave. The daughter of freed slaves who created a hair-care empire. A New Orleans boy who went from singing on street corners to headlining at Carnegie Hall. These are just a few of the fascinating stories youll hear as you join us to celebrate the cultural contributions of African-Americans from Louisiana.
Since 1976, February has been designated as African-American History Month. But in Louisiana, we pay tribute to this heritage year-round in places like Melrose, where former slave Marie-Therese Coin-Coin and her family founded what is now known as Melrose Plantation.
And that musician? Well, he just happened to become the one and only Louis Satchmo Armstrong, who helped popularize jazz. Each year, Satchmo SummerFest, a three-day festival in New Orleans, celebrates his life and music.
You can learn more about these Louisiana natives and others as you travel Louisianas African-American Heritage Trail. Stop in Grambling, a town settled by newly freed slaves. Today, its home to Grambling State University and the Eddie G. Robinson Museum, honoring the legendary football coach. Learn more about the history of black Creoles at the Creole Heritage Folklife Center in Opelousas.
New Orleans African American Museum
- 1418 Governor Nicholls St., New Orleans, LA 70116 | P: 218-8254
- 1418 Governor Nicholls St., New Orleans, LA 70116
- Sunday Monday Thursday Friday Saturday More Details:
Thursday-Sunday 11am-4pm and by appointment for tours, field trips and special visits. Free family event every third Saturday of the month from 11am-4pm.
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National Museum Of African American History And Culture Washington Dc
And, yes, a clear-eyed view of history can make us uncomfortable, and shake us out of familiar narratives. But it is precisely because of that discomfort that we learn and grow and harness our collective power to make this nation more perfect. Thats the American story that this museum tells one of suffering and delight one of fear but also of hope of wandering in the wilderness and then seeing out on the horizon a glimmer of the Promised Land.
Former US President Barack Obama, opening the NMAAHC in 2016.
Prospect : Yesterday We Said Tomorrow
Prospect.5: Yesterday we said tomorrow is the fifth edition of Prospect New Orleans, a citywide art exhibition. Inspired by New Orleans jazz musician Christian Scott a Tunde Adjuahs 2010 album Yesterday You Said Tomorrow, the title of the exhibition centers the unspoken present, the place where past and future come together, and where other courses of action become possible. The exhibition title also implies the deferral of meaningful change, which often comes slowly or not at all. The artists and ideas that define this exhibition confront this truth, and the stark realities of history, but also suggest that we might yet plot a different future. NOAAM will serve as the Hancock Whitney Welcome Center for Prospect.5 and features three internationally-known artists: Paul Stephen Benjamin, Dineo Seshee Bopape, and Kameelah Janan Rasheed.
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The Studio Museum Harlem New York
Im most proud that we were able to give exposure to a variety of diasporic artists. It wasnt about being a museum or being this, that, or the other. It was about making a human connection with people who were interested in the same things that we were, but out of another culture.
Edward S. Spriggs, former director of The Studio Museum.
From occupying a cramped space above a liquor store in 1968 to building a brand-new, multi-million-dollar home which is set to open in 2021, the Studio Museums original aim of championing Black art and culture has been a huge success.The Studio promotes the work of both up-and-coming and established artists of African descent. Every year the museum hosts an artist in residence, many of whom have gone on to forge hugely successful careers. The permanent collection boasts thousands of pieces including everything from drawings and prints to photographs and installations, all by Black American artists and members of the African diaspora.
National Civil Rights Museum Memphis Tennessee
I just want to do Gods will. And Hes allowed me to go up to the mountain. And Ive looked over. And Ive seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land.
Martin Luther King Jr. giving his Promised Land speech the night before his murder in 1968.
On April 4th, 1968, the morning after delivering his well-remembered Promised Land speech, civil rights hero Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. Dr. Kings murder sent shockwaves across the world, but rather than break the will of activists, it galvanized Black Americans to continue their demand for freedom. The National Civil Rights Museum is located steps from the site of MLKs death. Through hundreds of artifacts, videos, and oral histories, the museums exhibits detail the Black American experience, from the advent of slavery through to life under Jim Crow and the Civil Rights Movement. Visitors can board a bus to relive the experience of Montgomery bus boycott leader Rosa Parks, and sit at the original lunch counter where Greensboro students staged sit-ins in 1960.
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National Museum Of African American Music Nashville Tennessee
Were not focusing on a particular genre, artist or label. Were really going back through American history and saying, Lets help the American public understand how critical African American contributions have been to American music since the 1600s.
Henry Beecher Hicks III, President & CEO of the National Museum of African American Music, speaking to one37pm.com
Nashville, Tennessee. Nowhere in the United States is more synonymous with the sounds of the nation than Music City. In 2021, the long-awaited National Museum of African American Music opened its doors for the first time.
The museum details how the development of music in the United States is intrinsically linked to Black culture. The most popular American genres blues, rock & roll, country, jazz, et al can all be traced back to the forced arrival of Africans, who brought with them strong musical traditions.
This state-of-the-art African American museum is home to seven distinct galleries housing over 1,500 authentic artifacts from American musics various heydays. You can see B.B. Kings guitar Lucille, and a whole load more memorabilia from across the decades. There are opportunities to create your own hip-hop beats and flex your vocal cords to the tune of Oh Happy Day with a virtual gospel choir.
Aside from the interactive elements, Americas story and music history are woven masterfully through curated galleries like Rivers of Rhythm, Wade in the Water, and One Nation Under a Groove.
Founder Of African American Museum In Louisiana Found Dead In Car Trunk
A 75-year-old Louisiana woman who founded an African American history museum was discovered dead in the trunk of a car Friday afternoon, Baton Rouge police said.
A cause of death for Sadie Roberts-Joseph is not yet known, Sgt. L’Jean McKneely said.
“Our detectives are working diligently to bring the person or persons responsible for this heinous act to justice,” the Baton Rouge Police Department said Saturday.
Roberts-Joseph founded the Odell S. Williams Now and Then African American History Museum, now known as the Baton Rouge African American History Museum, in 2001, according to the Advocate. The museum is part of the New St. Luke Baptist Church campus on South Boulevard, where her brother serves as pastor, the outlet reported.
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Northwest African American Museum Seattle Washington
Our minds are nurtured, our spirits are touched and inspired, our sense of self is enhanced and validated by Black museums.
LaNesha DeBardelaben, Executive Director at NAAM.
Aptly located next to a park dedicated to one of Seattles most famous African American sons, Jimi Hendrix, the Northwest African American Museum does an exemplary job of showcasing the history, art, and culture of the African-American community in the Pacific Northwest.The museum works to a think globally, act locally mantra in its mission to promote an often underrepresented Black history in the American West.Visitors can explore the Northwests history through a deep-diving permanent collection that includes exhibits on everything from African-American settlers in the area to Seattles golden age of Jazz in the 1920s. This, plus an ever-changing line-up of award-winning temporary exhibitions, see NAAM stand-out as a bastion of Black heritage in the Northwest.
Preserving Louisianas Legacy: Lsu Libraries Awards River Road African American Museum
Gabe Harrell, LSU Libraries Digitization Lab Manager, presenting the 2022 YALL Award plaque to Kathe Hambrick, founder and former executive director of the River Road African American Museum
The LSU Libraries is dedicated to preserving and celebrating the rich history and diverse culture of communities across Louisiana. In keeping with that spirit, this summer the Libraries presented the 2022 YALL Award to the River Road African American Museum . The YALL Award was first established in 2019 and is an acronym for You Are Louisianas Legacy. Its purpose is to share digitization equipment and expertise with small, community-oriented libraries, archives, and museums in Louisiana.
RRAAM was selected for the award because of their strong ties to their community, the richness of their collections, and the important addition their material makes to the Louisiana Digital Library, said Sophie Ziegler, LSU Libraries Head of Digital Programs and Services.
Now in its 28th year, museum founder Kathe Hambrick says, The mission of the museum is to collect, preserve, and interpret the history of African Americans in the rural communities of South Louisiana. They work closely with the community in and around Donaldsonville, Louisiana.
LSU Libraries digitized a wide variety of material of great local and regional importance for RRAAM, including:
Items from RRAAM in the process of being digitized
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An Ode To New Orleans Artists
Unveiling History of the Past represents a commitment to our collection, to placing artists and their work back in the context of the communities they come from it is a part of decolonizing museum spaces. These works created by local New Orleans based artists and their creativity captures the everyday lives of black men, women and children. The perception of culture highlights the eras of the 1960s, 70s and 80s representing a time of struggle, commitment, employment and gratification.
The history and culture of New Orleans illuminates food, dance, festivals, celebrations and is an opportunity, a glimpse into the mundane life of Black New Orleans. Take a step back in history and become a part of a culture that is filled with color, passion, empathy and creativity as the New Orleans African American Museum unveils the history of our past and honors the artists whose work explores the essence of New Orleans.
LuChana Keller-Evans, MA- Collections Manager
The Matrix Of Creativity: Where The River Meets The Sea
Curated by Kristina Kay Robinson
Curatorial Fellow Kennedi Andrus
An exhibition showcasing contemporary work by artists, creatives, and designers engaging in the aesthetic of black spatial realities, imaginary spaces and black meccas.
Featuring: Khalid Abdelrahman, Langston Allston, Kennedi Andrus, Dianne Mimi Baquet, Didier Civil, Rodrecas Davis, Eseosa Edebiri, Sokari Ekine, Ashley Firstley, Myesha Francis, Jacq Francois, Cherice Harrison-Nelson, Cheryiah Hill, Tatiana Kitchen, Soraya Jean Louis, Gael Jean Louis, Lance Minto-Strouse, Steven Montinar, John Jahni Moore, Jameel Paulin, Schetauna Powell, Nik Richard, Ryann Sterling, Khalid Thompson, Bianca Walker, Sly Watts
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Whitney Plantation Wallace Louisiana
The history of this country is rooted in slavery. If you dont understand the source of the problem, how can you solve it?
Ibrahima Seck, Director of Research at the Whitney Plantation.
Louisianas history is marred by slavery and the plantation system. In the view of retired white lawyer John Cummings, Louisiana, and the wider United States, has yet to seriously reconcile its past. Having originally purchased Whitney Plantation with what he concedes were purely real estate-based motives, Cummings helped transform the derelict site, located between New Orleans and Baton Rouge along the Mississippi River, into a one-of-a-kind Black history museum focused entirely on slavery.On arrival, guests are allocated a card detailing the name and story of an enslaved person. Visitors are shown around the very grounds on which slaves toiled in the Southern heat to cultivate sugar and rice during the 18th and 19th centuries. Original slave cabins, the Big House, and several powerful memorials are part of a moving, deeply insightful tour.
The Buffalo Soldiers National Museum Houston Texas
We are home now though our flame flickers low. Will you fan it with the winds of freedom, or will you smother it with the sands of humiliation? Will it be that we fought for the lesser of two evils? Or is there this freedom and happiness for all men?
James Harden Daugherty, author and former Buffalo Soldier during World War II.
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The River Road African American Museum
The Donaldsonville museum shines light on Black perspectives and achievements in the region.
Jordan LaHaye Fontenot
The River Road African American Museum in Donaldsonville.
A quaint blue building situated in the heart of Donaldsonville holds more history than one can imagine. Settled in the middle of what many call Louisianas plantation country, the River Road African American Museum sets out to tell the stories and histories of the regions Black communitiesas Todd Sterling, the River Roads African American Museums Board President puts it: The ascension, the success part, the family part, the cultural part, and the contributions to America and the contributions to Louisiana.
Kathe Hambrick opened the River Road African American Museum at Tezcuco Plantation in 1994 as an institution to educate the community and interpret the lives of African Americans in rural South Louisiana. After a fire that destroyed Tezcuco, the museum moved to Donaldsonville in 2003, where it continues to advance this mission today, focusing on the narratives of the people and descendants who built and worked at the picturesque, grand plantation homes often seen on local tourism brochures.
RRAM Board Membersfrom left to right: Juanita Pearly, Tyrone Smith, and Todd Sterlingwith Interim Director Darryl Hambrick.
You can see the River Road African American Museums exhibits online, book a tour, or make a donation at africanamericanmuseum.org.
Northeast Louisiana Delta African American Museum
1051 Chennault Park Drive|Monroe, LA 71203|
- Admission: Adults 18 & older, $5 Students & Senior Citizens, $3 Group rates available.
- Hours: 10:00 am – 4:00 pm Tues-Fri 10:00 am – 2:00 pm Sat Sunday by appointment.
Northeast Louisiana Delta African American Museum1051 Chennault Park DriveMonroe, LA 71203
Opening its doors in 1994, the Northeast Louisiana Delta African American Heritage Museum houses Louisianas largest and most significant collection of work, by world renowned expressionist artist and Northeast Louisiana native, Don Cincone. His paintings, with their brilliant hues and sympathetic subjects, are both evocative and tender. In addition to the work of Cincone, the museum exhibits talented regional artists including Daryl Triplet and Bernard Menyweather and hundreds of artifacts from African American life in Northeast Louisiana throughout the centuries. An archival section featuring local African American leaders, their history, and contributions, and models of famous African American leaders like statesman and reformer Frederick Douglass, educator Mary Bethune, and first African American millionaire and businesswoman Madam C.J. Walker highlight the museum’s The museum has guided tours and a gift shop that offers unique gifts and a wide book selection for adults and children.
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