African American Museums Annual Conference

The Stanback Museum & Planetarium Director Ellen Zisholtz attended the 30th Anniversary of the Association of African American Museums' annual conference in Chicago, IL, August 27 - 30. Four SCSU students enrolled in advanced museum courses also attended, Robyn Hemby, Andrea Pugh and Johnathan Smith, all Independent Studies students, and John Johnson, a Professional Internship student. The students attended seminars and workshops, and received a scholarship for tuition in return for volunteering at the conference. Two of the workshops they attended were "Conservation For The Budget Challenged Institution" and "Museum Collections 101". They also networked with museum professionals from IMLS, (Institute for Museum and Library Services) the National African American Museum of History and Culture, which is being built at the Smithsonian, Tavis Smiley's national touring exhibition "America I Am", as well as African American museums from all over the country. The students were witnesses to history when they, along with about 200 others, saw Barack Obama's acceptance speech in Chicago at the DuSable Museum of African American History.They also visited the McCormick Freedom Museum, The National Museum of Mexican Art and the Columbia College of Art and Media. The Stanback Director Ellen Zisholtz was re-elected Chair of the Director's Roundtable, which represents the directors of all the African American Museums in the country. She was a presentor in the workshop titled "The Gullah-Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor". Awards were given to two friends of The Stanback, Emory Campbell, former Director of the Penn Center, who received the Lifetime Achievement Award, and Carl Westmoreland, of the National Underground Railroad Museum in Cincinnatti, who received a "Service to Museums" award. All photos courtesy of Robyn Hemby.