The Grout Museum District, in partnership with the NAACP and Experience Waterloo, has established the community-based Black Stories Collective committee to collect and preserve Black oral histories. The stories will be preserved and shared though this exhibition and online publication.
When history is recorded and shared it enriches a community, but when certain events or people are ignored, society suffers a loss. The small number of Black interviews in the Grout Museums’ Voices of Iowa oral history archive was brought to light as the community held social justice protests during 2020. Recognizing this deficiency, the Black Stories Collective Project evolved and became a priority. This series will explore various events and people in the Cedar Valley whose stories are largely unknown or untold. Please join us in exploring the history that has been overlooked, because when we ignore Black history, we are ignoring American history.
Project Sponsors:
Institute of Museum and Library Services, Community Foundation of Northeast Iowa, Veridian Credit Union, Iowa Arts Council/Iowa Department of Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Humanities, McCausland Family, Dave and Mary Dutton
This exhibit is a permanent addition to the Grout Museum District. Content will update every 6-12 months.