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African American Museum (formerly the Afro-American Cultural & Historical Society Museum) in Cleveland, Ohio was founded in 1953 by Icabod Flewellen. The Museum is housed in a 100-year-old Carnegie Library building. The Museum works to educate young people about the positive contributions of blacks to the cultures of the world, and to eliminate the distorted portrayals and images of black people.
The African American Museum in Cleveland was founded by Icabod Flewellen in 1953. It became the first independent African American museum to open in America. Flewellen was a long-time resident of East Cleveland and best known for his extensive collection of African-American historical artifacts and souvenirs. [1] By age 13, Flewellen began collecting historical newspaper clippings dedicated to the history of black Americans, a passion inspired by the writings of Jamaican-born author J. A. Rogers. Icabod’s first museum collection, which he noted had been exceedingly rich with historical material, was destroyed at his West Virginia home in a firebomb by white supremacists shortly after his return from the military. [2] Flewellen’s collection of materials, after the fire in his West Virginia home, eventually became the main artifacts of the Museum. He then migrated to Cleveland, Ohio in 1949, began collecting materials again, and relaunched his second African American Museum originally known as the Afro-American Historical and Cultural Society in 1953. [3] The majority of Flewellen’s collected material was obtained by visiting neighbors and asking them about their family histories. One collection that remains in the museum today is from the Cleveland’s "Parade of Progress" in 1964. Other portions of his collection went to the East Cleveland Library Debra Ann November Center.
The African American Museum, formerly the Afro-American Cultural & Historical Society Museum which was established in April 1953 is located at 1765 Crawford Rd. in Cleveland. It is a nonprofit cultural and educational museum that aims to share the achievements of African Americans. Flewellen believed that everyone should have the opportunity to see the accomplishments of Africans and those of African descent. Although they were originally stored at his home on Harkness Avenue, it was moved in 1968 to a classroom at St. Marian’s School. In May 1973, the collection (more than 200,000 items at the time) was moved to 1839 E. 81st St., where it was housed until February 1983, when the Cleveland Public Library (CPL) leased Flewellen its Treasure House building on Crawford Rd. CPL turned over the management of the building to the museum in September 1984. The museum building was renamed Icabod Flewellen in 1987 and can be seen in the photo.
Flewellen worked other jobs to support this project and due to an increase in black history interest, he received grants for special projects, such as a $10,000 grant from the Cleveland Foundation in 1970 to catalog his collection. The Ohio Humanities Council and the National Endowment for the Humanities also provided support, and in 1983 the museum received a $50,000 community development block grant for lectures to schoolchildren and community groups. In 1992 the museum received grants from the Cleveland and Gund Foundations.
The museum has been closed since 2005 due to lack of proper building functions and funds. As of 2010, it is open only on selected days. It is raising funds in hopes of re-opening. Its mission will remain the same: to store, share, and educate the public on contributions made to the world by people of African descent.
Over the decades, the museum has provided the Cleveland community with cultural education about black history and events that celebrate African Americans.
In partnership with Green Energy Ohio the museum hosted an exhibit on the use of solar power in African Villages. The museum installed a solar panel on its roof. The components of the system are in a clear display case and part of the exhibit. The African Solar Village Outreach Project plans to establish creative avenues for teaching science and mathematics, specifically Solar Energy, to visitors. The African Solar Village exhibit, its other tours and hands-on activities are designed to offer an understanding of how science and culture interrelate in unique ways. [5]
Louis Stokes was an American attorney, civil rights pioneer and politician. He served 15 terms in the United States House of Representatives – representing the east side of Cleveland – and was the first African American congressman elected in the state of Ohio. He was one of the Cold War-era chairmen of the House Intelligence Committee, headed the Congressional Black Caucus, and was the first African American on the House Appropriations Committee.
The Cleveland Museum of Natural History is a natural history museum located approximately five miles (8 km) east of downtown Cleveland, Ohio in University Circle, a 550-acre concentration of educational, cultural and medical institutions. The museum was established in 1920 by Cyrus S. Eaton to perform research, education and development of collections in the fields of anthropology, archaeology, astronomy, botany, geology, paleontology, wildlife biology, and zoology. The museum traces its roots to the Ark, formed in 1836 on Cleveland's Public Square by William Case, the Academy of Natural Science formed by William Case and Jared Potter Kirtland, and the Kirtland Society of Natural History, founded in 1869 and reinvigorated in 1922 by the trustees of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
The University of Nebraska State Museum, also known as Morrill Hall, founded in 1871, is a natural history museum featuring Nebraska biodiversity, paleontology, and cultural diversity, located on the University of Nebraska–Lincoln City Campus near the corner of 14th and Vine Streets in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. The museum houses Mueller Planetarium, a hands-on science discovery center, and the Elephant Hall, where visitors can see the world's largest articulated fossil mammoth among the collection of fossil elephants. Also featured are interactive paleontology exhibits, a dinosaur gallery, ancient life and evolution exhibits, wildlife dioramas, gems and minerals, American Indian and African exhibits, and a temporary exhibit gallery featuring rotating displays on diverse topics including photography, quilts and fine arts.
The Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS) is a historical society in Cleveland, Ohio. The society operates the Cleveland History Center, a collection of museums in University Circle.
Cleveland Public Library, located in Cleveland, Ohio, operates the Main Library on Superior Avenue in downtown Cleveland, 27 branches throughout the city, a mobile library, a Public Administration Library in City Hall, and the Ohio Library for the Blind and Physically Disabled. The library replaced the State Library of Ohio as the location for the Ohio Center for the Book in 2003.
The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, or The Wright, is located in Detroit, Michigan in the U.S.; inside the city's Midtown Cultural Center is one of the world's oldest independent African American museums.
The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Institute of Texan Cultures (ITC) is a museum and library located in HemisFair Park in Downtown San Antonio, Texas. It serves as the state's primary center for multicultural education, with exhibits, programs, and events like the Texas Folklife Festival, an annual celebration of the many ethnicities that make up the population of Texas. It has been held yearly since 1972.
The California African American Museum (CAAM) is a museum located in Exposition Park, Los Angeles, California, United States. The Museum focuses on enrichment and education on the cultural heritage and history of African Americans with a focus on California and western United States. Admission is free to all visitors. Their mission statement is "to research, collect, preserve, and interpret for public enrichment the history, art and culture of African Americans with an emphasis on California and the western United States."
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a research library of the New York Public Library (NYPL) and an archive repository for information on people of African descent worldwide. Located at 515 Malcolm X Boulevard between West 135th and 136th Streets in the Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, it has, almost from its inception, been an integral part of the Harlem community. It is named for Afro-Puerto Rican scholar Arturo Alfonso Schomburg.
The African American Museum in Philadelphia (AAMP) is notable as the first museum funded and built by a municipality to help preserve, interpret and exhibit the heritage of African Americans. Opened during the 1976 Bicentennial celebrations, the AAMP is located in historic Philadelphia on Arch Street, a few blocks away from the Liberty Bell.
The Afro-American Historical and Cultural Society Museum is located is on the upper floor of the Greenville Branch of the Jersey City, New Jersey Public Library, its collection is dedicated to the African American experience.
Vivian Gordon Harsh was an American librarian. Harsh is noted as the Chicago Public Library (CPL) system's first African American librarian, being assigned to the position on February 26, 1924. Harsh served as a librarian for 34 years until retiring in 1958. During her career, she began an extensive archive on African American history and culture, which is now known as, the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection, at the CPL.
Museum of World Treasures is a world history museum in Wichita, Kansas, United States. Among the many items on display are Tyrannosaurus, Daspletosaurus, and Tylosaurus specimens, Egyptian mummies, signatures of all the American presidents, a section of the Berlin Wall, and a genuine shrunken head. The Museum of World Treasures is not limited to a particular era of history, but has opted to display a diverse collection representing many different fields of interest and a wide range of subjects. This museum is a member of the American Alliance of Museums, but is not accredited by the organization.
The Summit County Historical Society of Akron, Ohio, abbreviated SCHS, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Akron, Ohio. It focuses on the history of the City of Akron and Summit County, Ohio.
The National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center is a museum located in Wilberforce, Ohio, whose mission is to chronicle through its collections and programs the rich and varied experiences of African Americans from their African origins to the present. It is one of many museums operated by the Ohio History Connection.
Smithsonian Affiliations is a division of the Smithsonian Institution that establishes long-term partnerships with non-Smithsonian museums and educational and cultural organizations, in order to share collections, exhibitions and educational strategies and conduct joint research.
The Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture is a division of the College of Charleston library system. The center is located on the site of the former Avery Normal Institute in the Harleston village district at 125 Bull Street in Charleston, South Carolina. This historic secondary school trained Black students for professional careers and leadership roles, and served as a hub for Charleston’s African-American community from 1865 to 1954.
Ohio History Connection, formerly The Ohio State Archaeological and Historical Society and Ohio Historical Society, is a nonprofit organization incorporated in 1885. Headquartered at the Ohio History Center in Columbus, Ohio, Ohio History Connection provides services to both preserve and share Ohio's history, including its prehistory, and manages over 50 museums and sites across the state. An early iteration of the organization was founded by Brigadier General Roeliff Brinkerhoff in 1875. Over its history, the organization changed its name twice, with the first occurring in 1954 when the name was shortened to Ohio Historical Society. In 2014, it was changed again to Ohio History Connection, in what members believed was a more modern and welcoming representation of the organization's image.
April Sunami is a mixed-media artist based in Columbus, Ohio. Her work has been exhibited in museums, galleries and private collections across the United States, and in both Ghana and Cuba, and is represented in the permanent collections of the Southern Ohio Museum in Portsmouth, Ohio and the National Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center in Wilberforce, Ohio. She was described in the Columbus Dispatch by Columbus Museum of Art director Nannette Maciejunes as an heir to the legacy of Aminah Robinson. She has served in leadership roles in local arts organizations Creative Arts of Women, Mother Artists at Work and Creative Women of Color, served as Assistant Director at the William H. Thomas Gallery and was the first board president of All People Arts Incorporated. She is currently featured as part of the "Columbus Makes Art / Art Makes Columbus" tourism campaign as a face of Columbus art. She has a BA in Art History from Ohio State University and a MA in Art History from Ohio University. She is one of the current artists-in-residence at the Blockfort arts building. Her mentors in the world of art include Talle Bamazi, Stephanie Rond, Queen Brooks, and Bettye Stull.
The African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund is a program formed in 2017 to aid stewards of Black cultural sites throughout the nation in preserving both physical landmarks, their material collections and associated narratives. It was organized under the auspices of the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The initiative which awards grants to select applicants and advocates of Black history has been led by architectural historian Brent Leggs since 2019. It is the largest program in America to preserve places associated with Black history.
Coordinates: 41°30′31″N81°37′38″W / 41.508747°N 81.627263°W African American Museum in Cleveland