FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 14, 2005

Press Contacts
202-653-4632
Eileen Maxwell, emaxwell@imls.gov
Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov

New IMLS Publication: African American History & Culture in Museums: Strategic Crossroads and New Opportunities

Washington, DC—A new publication, African American History & Culture in Museums: Strategic Crossroads and New Opportunities, is available from IMLS. The reports results from a day-long forum where 30 invitees—leaders in the African American museum community and the museum community at large—explored the evolving role of African American museums, their contributions, and their challenges. The session was a critical listening opportunity for IMLS staff and will be used to help make connections between IMLS programs and the needs of the African American museum community. A clear outcome of the meeting was that IMLS must continue to work closely with the African American museum community to raise awareness about its existing grant opportunities and to create new ones.

“African American museums are catalysts for deepening appreciation and understanding of the African American experience and they play an essential role in the creation of scholarship, the stewardship of collections, and the development of public programs,” writes Robert Martin, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, in the preface of the report. “As such, these museums are a vital component in the ongoing effort of our country to create “a Nation of Learners”—an effort that is the central mission of the IMLS.”

This report, along with other discussions and consultations, will also help guide IMLS in the development of a new grant program that seeks to recognize and support the role of African American museums in communities across the United States as authorized by The National Museum of African American History and Culture Act.

To obtain free copies of the report, email the Institute of Museum and Library Services at imlsinfo@imls.gov, or access it electronically from the agency Web site.