Celebrating a rebirth
Danny Glover helps celebrate the re-emergence of America's Black Holocaust Museum.
It was a little like church. The crowd, many in their Sunday finest, used their programs to fan themselves against the heat. A few raised their hands to the sky, some shouted “Glory!” and “Amen” as others spoke.
It had, after all, taken some faith to get there, to Monday morning’s celebration of the re-emergence of America’s Black Holocaust Museum, where actor and longtime political activist Danny Glover was a special guest. And it will take more faith still, as the museum still needs to create exhibits and raise about $2 million for the build-out of the space before the reopening in October.
The crowd hushed when Virgil Cameron talked about his father, James Cameron, who founded the museum on the same site 30 years ago this week. The younger Cameron recounted how his father survived a lynching and devoted his life to helping others confront the truths of racial violence.
Ald. Milele Coggs, who has worked to get the museum, which closed a decade ago due to financial difficulties, reopened, talked about how it will be an important space for Milwaukee as well as “the nation and the world.”
“At a time in this nation when we are talking about kids being separated from their parents because they were not born there, at a time in this nation where we’re even having to discuss the meaning of white privilege, at a time in this nation where doing anything while black could cause you to be arrested or even be killed -- there is no greater time than now for the resurgence and re-emergence of America’s Black Holocaust Museum,” said Coggs, thanking Mayor Tom Barrett and calling the project a collaboration among many.
The event was also a celebration of Maures Development Group and its founder and president Melissa Goins, who is leading the $17.7 million redevelopment of the Historic Garfield Apartments and The Griot building in Bronzeville, where space will be leased to the museum. The company is celebrating its 12th anniversary. The project is also being led by J. Jeffers & Co.
Goins sat down with Glover on stage for a frank discussion about issues of race. Glover said he thinks of his life’s work as being about community development, despite being known for his work on screen, including roles in “The Color Purple” and the “Lethal Weapon” movies. He is also a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Children’s Fund, or UNICEF.
Glover leaned on the wisdom of elders during the discussion, invoking the words and stories of James Baldwin, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Langston Hughes and others. He honored the members of The Original Black Panthers of Milwaukee, who stood together in their black T-shirts.
Glover said the museum, among other things, can be a place of healing — personal, generational and societal. He read Hughes’ poem “Trumpet Player,” which ends with these words:
“...but softly as the tune comes from his throat trouble mellows to a golden note.”
“What is he talking about, right there?” Glover then asked. “He’s talking about slavery. He’s talking about releasing that anger and pain...”
For information or to contribute to America’s Black Holocaust Museum, go to www.abhmuseum.org.