The Griot Museum of Black History

Coordinates: 38°39′10″N 90°12′33″W / 38.652890°N 90.209271°W / 38.652890; -90.209271

Griot Museum of Black History

The Griot Museum of Black History, located in St. Louis, Missouri, was founded in 1997. Originally named The Black World History Wax Museum, the organization changed its name to The Griot Museum of Black History (“The Griot”) in 2009. In some west African countries, the griot, is a historian, storyteller, praise singer, poet and/or musician. The griot is a repository of oral tradition and is often seen as a societal leader who preserves and shares cultural traditions of a community. Likewise, the museum collects, preserves, and shares the stories, culture, and history of Black people with a focus on those with a regional connection to American history.

The Griot has numerous displays of wax sculptures, art, and memorabilia. Featured historical figures include Carter G. Woodson, Josephine Baker, Dred and Harriet Scott, Elizabeth Keckley, William Wells Brown, James Milton Turner, Clark Terry, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Miles Davis, Madame C.J. Walker, York, Percy Green, among others.

The museum features a slave cabin built on the Wright–Smith Plantation in Jonesburg, Missouri. Other exhibits include documentary videos as well as a model section of a ship intended to replicate those used to transport Africans to America during the Atlantic Slave Trade.

The museum hosts arts and humanities exhibits and sponsors education projects, gallery talks, and cultural celebrations.[1][2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Fowler, Nancy. "Urban League and Griot Museum join forces to keep African-American history alive in St. Louis". Retrieved 2017-10-06.
  2. ↑ Forbes, J.B. "The Griot Museum features a Cast of Blues". stltoday.com. Retrieved 2017-10-06.
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