BLACK
WORLD HISTORY MUSEUM: LASTING INVOLVEMENT
Because the museum's use of professional expertise was so different
from that of the Friends of Arrow Rock's, the impact of scholarly
involvement was also quite different. Initially, Ms. Conley had envisioned
securing a wide range of professionals from both within and outside
of the community. Some of these 'lay' humanities experts would, as
elders, be paired with interns and act as mentors to the students
on an on-going basis. The more high-profile professionals, such as
Mr. Blockson, a scholar from Temple University who was to have worked
with the interns on researching the Underground Railroad, were to
be involved with the training of the interns.
As the availability of elders and experts shifted, however, the museum
consciously turned its dollars from the nationally renown professionals
to programs presented by locally-based experts. Each of these experts
would, as originally planned, become actively involved in the training
of the students in their specific fields of expertise. The professionals
not only instructed the interns as a group, they also accompanied
them on field trips, worked one-on-one with them, and introduced them
to other experts, scholars, and community members. For example, when
Ms. Conley took the group to the July ACTION reunion and workshop,
the students were given the opportunity to meet Ms. Margaret Bush
Wilson, who is featured in the video accompanying the museum's Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. exhibit.
Among the most involved professionals working with the students were:
Ms. Lois Conley, Executive Director of the museum; Ms. Erika Neal,
Director of Marketing and Visitor Services; Mr. James A. Vincent,
local historian and attorney who, among other duties, taught the students
internet and research skills; Mr. John H. Whitfield, Executive Director
of the African Historical and Genealogical Research Society, who instructed
students in using local resources to conduct genealogical research;
Mr. William Murphy, an artist and set designer who assisted with exhibit
fabrication; and Mr. Charles Murphy, a teacher and computer consultant
who introduced the students to computer techniques and distance learning.
The mentoring program, as originally conceived, was abandoned in
favor of presentations done by some elders for the intern group as
a whole. However, the philosophy of using the elders' knowledge for
the benefit of 
the
interns was preserved. For example, Mrs. Linda Cherry, one of the
participating elders, talked to the interns about collecting and preserving
family memorabilia. As the great granddaughter of Ms. Belle Brown,
she had already been an active member of the museum community: she
had previously donated some of her great grandmother's clothing for
an exhibit at the museum. During the internship period, she brought
in some photographs of Ms. Brown to supplement the exhibit and to
teach the students about the importance of conservation.
