Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum

Introduction

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The Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum (AAHM) is located in the Lincoln Park neighborhood, east of the entrance to Oak Ridge Cemetery, at 1440 Monument Avenue. The museum sprang from the Springfield Illinois African American History Foundation, which was incorporated in 2006. The foundation's original goal was the gathering of oral histories to record the accomplishments of African Americans in the Springfield area. The foundation established the museum in February 2012 on Washington Street near the State Capitol. The museum moved to a historic home on the U. of I. Springfield campus in 2014 and then moved to its current spot in 2016. The museum's mission is to tell "our truths clearly, unapologetically, honestly, and in a way that children to seniors will be inspired and hopeful."

Images

Museum's logo from its website in October 2020

Backstory and Context

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On exhibit at the AAHM are representations of African American women on U.S. postage stamps and the story of President Barack Obama. Another exhibit describes the history of slavery and the Middle Passage, featuring an audio-visual interactive experience dubbed the "Door of No Return." African-American families who moved to Central Illinois in the 1800s and have local descendants are examined in the Early African American Pioneers exhibit. African American Firsts in Illinois is another current exhibit. A new exhibit in the works is about the oldest African-American churches in Springfield.

Ms. Nell Clay was elected president of the museum's board of directors in 2016. In 2020, she still directs the daily operations of the museum, oversees fundraising, builds relationships with businesses, and secures new exhibits. Ms. Clay once was a high school teacher at Springfield High and obtained a masters degree in human resources. After working in education, Ms. Clay became director of civil rights for the Illinois Department of Revenue. She later held the same job title at the state's transportation department before retiring in 2005. Ms. Clay joined the museum's board of directors in 2015.

The AAHM closed due to the pandemic in early 2020 and cancelled its exhibit for Women's History month in March. The museum was among the institutions allowed to reopen in June 2020. Plans for reopening had not yet been made by then, however. The museum is mainly operated by volunteers, many of whom are elderly, and the one part-time staff member has been furloughed. The museum is funded by grants and other fundraising efforts, including a fall gala. Ms. Clay continues to update the museum's website in the interim. The museum hosted eight voter registration drives in the summer and fall of 2020. A special exhibit on the National Negro Leagues Baseball was supposed to be on loan in 2020 from the Kansas City Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, but this opening has been delayed until 2021.

Sources

Clay, Nell, & AAHM Board of Directors. "African American museum hosts voter registrations." Illinois Times (Springfield, IL) July 9th 2020, News & Opinion sec.

Springfield & Central IL African American History Museum. Current Exhibits, Exhibits. June 1st 2020. Accessed October 13th 2020. https://spiaahm.org/exhibits/.

Witter, Karen Ackerman. "Determined to Tell the Story." Illinois Times (Springfield, IL) July 16th 2020, Arts & Culture sec.

Woodson, Pamela. "Museum Quality." Illinois Times (Springfield, IL) June 17th 2020. Special Issues ed, Regeneration sec.

Image Sources(Click to expand)

https://spiaahm.org/