Chicago leaders calling for support of Black house museums

Founders and leaders of African American museums in Chicago are coming together to urge the city’s residents to support Black house museums during Black History Month, The Associated Press reported.

Black History Month, which was founded by Association for the Study of African American History founder Carter G. Woodson, takes place in February.

Members of the Coalition of Black House Museums said Thursday that Chicago is full of places that celebrate and preserve African American stories, including the A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum, the Elijah Muhammad House, the Emmett and Mamie Till-Mobley House Museum and the Muddy Waters Original Jam Out Museum.

Lyn Hughes, founder of the A. Philip Randolph Pullman Porter Museum, said that this kind of preserved African American culture “is that glue that has held the Black community together for hundreds of year.s”

“The authentic interpretation of our culture is critical,” Hughes added in regard to the importance of Black museums.

House museums are usually located in private homes or buildings, once owned or lived in by notable historical figures. They are often full of collections of art and historical texts or artifacts.

The Coalition of Black House Museums, a group connecting the leaders of Black house museums across Chicago, was founded in March 2021.

The Pullman Porter Museum was named after Asa Philip Randolph, who were the members of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters union in Chicago.

The Muddy Waters Original Jam Out Museum belonged to blues singer-songwriter Muddy Waters while he was alive.

Woodson initially created Black History Week, which would become Black History Month, to inspire Black Americans to take pride in their history and culture.

“If a race has no history, if it has no worthwhile tradition, it becomes a negligible factor in the thought of the world, and it stands in danger of being exterminated,” Woodson said, according to The Associated Press.