African American Museums and the Intersection of Education, Policy, History, and Practice

• In Event: Broadening Curriculum Spaces: Context and the Politics of Inclusion

Abstract

January 1, 2013 marked the Sesquicentennial signing of the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 and served as a critical reminder of access, equity and privilege in American historical memory. The purpose of this paper is to examine the historiography of African American museums and their educational missions. This study also examines how Amistad Commission legislation seeks to integrate the history of African diasporic peoples in broadly expansive, public and educational curriculums. In a world of changing technologies, increasingly virtual engagement and forgotten histories, African American museums play a vital role in shaping national identity.

Author

• Lori M. West, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign