The Odell S. Williams Now And Then African-American History Museum or the Baton Rouge African-American Museum, is a non-profit [1] museum of African-American history and heritage located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, [2] United States. The museum is named for Odell S. Williams, an educator in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Founded by Sadie Roberts-Joseph in 2001, the museum remains the only museum dedicated to African and African American history in the city. [3] The museum celebrates Juneteenth, [4] [5] Black History Month, and American history year round. [6]
Sadie Roberts-Joseph, curator and founder, established the African American Museum after seeing the need and importance of having it in the community. [7] She often told visitors, "Culture is the glue that holds a people together. Take a step back in time and leap into your future." [8]
Roberts-Joseph maintained the museum on her own from its founding until her death in 2019. [9] After her death, her son Jason and his sister took over the management. The museum closed for a short time for COVID-19, but reopened in time for Juneteenth 2020. [10] It receives no federal or local funding. [11]
Baton Rouge is the capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. Located on the eastern bank of the Mississippi River, it had a population of 227,470 as of 2020; it is the seat of Louisiana's most populous parish (county-equivalent), East Baton Rouge Parish, and the center of Louisiana's second-largest metropolitan area, Greater Baton Rouge.
Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the end of slavery. Its name is a portmanteau of the words "June" and "nineteenth", as it is celebrated on the anniversary of June 19, 1865, when as the American Civil War was ending, Major General Gordon Granger ordered the final enforcement of the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas. Originating in Galveston, Juneteenth has since been observed annually in various parts of the United States, often broadly celebrating African-American culture.
West Feliciana Parish is a civil parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 census, the population was 15,310. The parish seat is St. Francisville. The parish was established in 1824.
West Baton Rouge Parish is one of the sixty-four parishes in the U.S. state of Louisiana. Established in 1807, its parish seat is Port Allen. With a 2020 census population of 27,199 residents, West Baton Rouge Parish is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area.
St. Helena Parish is a parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2020 United States census, the population was 10,920. Its seat is Greensburg. The parish was created in 1810. St. Helena Parish is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan area.
Baker is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana, in East Baton Rouge Parish. It is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area, and had a population of 12,455 at the 2020 census, down from 13,895 at the 2010 U.S. census.
Port Allen is a city in, and the parish seat of, West Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana, United States. Located on the west bank of the Mississippi River, it is bordered by Interstate 10 and US Highway 190. The population was 4,939 in 2020. It is part of the Baton Rouge metropolitan statistical area.
Louisiana State University is an American public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near Pineville, Louisiana, under the name Louisiana State Seminary of Learning & Military Academy. The current LSU main campus was dedicated in 1926, consists of more than 250 buildings constructed in the style of Italian Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, and the main campus historic district occupies a 650-acre (260 ha) plateau on the banks of the Mississippi River.
The Diocese of Baton Rouge, is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese in the Florida Parishes region of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the Metropolitan Archdiocese of New Orleans. The current bishop is Michael Duca.
McKinley Senior High School, located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States on 800 E. McKinley St., is home to the East Baton Rouge Parish School Board's first gifted and talented high school programs. The school mascot is a Panther and the school colors are royal blue and white.
Melvin Lee "Kip" Holden, is an American politician who served from 2005 to 2016 as the Democratic Mayor-President of Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. The parish includes the state capital of Baton Rouge and smaller suburban cities such as Baker, Central City, and Zachary.
Sharon Weston Broome is the mayor-president of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She served in the Louisiana State Senate representing the 15th district from 2005 to 2016. She was elected mayor-president in a runoff election held on December 10, 2016. Broome is the first African-American woman to serve as mayor-president.
William Harold Nungesser is an American politician serving as the 54th lieutenant governor of Louisiana since 2016. A member of the Republican Party, Nungesser is also the former president of the Plaquemines Parish Commission, having been re-elected to a second four-year term in the 2010 general election in which he topped two opponents with more than 71 percent of the vote. His second term as parish president began on January 1, 2011, and ended four years later.
Liberty Magnet High School is a public magnet school in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States, founded in the 1950s but was closed in 2009. The school was subsequently reopened in 2011 as a magnet school in the East Baton Rouge Parish School System. Liberty Magnet has a student body of approximately 1,100 students. Liberty Magnet High School is classified as an "A" school, receiving a 106.7 SPS in 2017. Liberty requires students to pass enrollment standards and exceed graduation standards.
Blair Imani is an American author, historian, and activist. She identifies as queer, Black, bisexual and Muslim. She is a member of the Black Lives Matter movement, and is known for protesting the shooting of Alton Sterling and Executive Order 13769.
Sadie Roberts-Joseph was an American community activist and founder of the Baton Rouge Odell S. Williams Now & Then Museum of African-American History in 2001. She was also the founder of a non-profit organization, Community Against Drugs and Violence (CADAV). She organized the annual "Juneteenth Celebration" which commemorates the emancipation of slaves in the Southern United States. She helped organize an annual Veterans Day celebration at the Port Hudson National Cemetery to honor veterans of all races who fought in the Civil War.
Capitol High School is a public high school named after the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.