Board of Directors/ Staff

Mission, Vision and Values

Mission

We will tell authentic stories about African-American life in Central Illinois, past and present, celebrating and sharing our history and culture and planning for our future.

We will do this through scholarship, oral histories, exhibits, partnerships, our board, our supporters and our friends. We are and will be community builders.

We recognize that our stories are at once unique but connected to those of other communities and we will support those interconnections. We will be integral to the cultural life of our area. We will partner with like-minded organizations. We will be proactive in our community. We will study and apply best-practices in business, scholarship and communication.

Vision

Discover our vast collections of artifacts and objects, including rare and unique items from around the world. Our collections cover a wide range of disciplines, from archaeology to zoology.

Values

In the next three years we will build an outstanding reputation through astute programming and strategic partnerships.

We will build public awareness.
We will secure a new and convenient location in a Springfield tourist-developed area to include office space, space for gatherings, meetings and the housing and care of our growing collections.We understand that a strategic plan is a process (a working document, often called a green planning process). We will review the plan on a regular basis. Therefore our board will schedule reviews periodically and as needed.
Within three years we will organize a fund raising drive to secure permanent museum space to accommodate future programs, exhibits and outreach to our communities.
We will be creative and innovative.
We will create programs with our audiences, build those audiences and position ourselves for a successful capital campaign.
We will strengthen our board to assure we have the expertise in place to achieve our mission and vision.
We will be the preeminent African American museum in Central Illinois, the 'must visit' museum for tourist and residents.

History

In November 2006, the following people came together to incorporate the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Foundation: Rudy Davenport (President), Archie Lawrence (Treasurer), Barbara Dickman (Secretary), Cullom Davis, Peter Boltuc, Orville Ewing, Douglas King, and Richard Bowen, Jr. These incorporators were joined by Founding Members: Jerrie Blakely, Margaret Collins, Robert Gosa, Edwin Lee Jr., Edie Lee Harris, Mary Jane Logan and Lee Patton. The Foundation obtained federal tax exemption for contributions, through Section 501 (c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The Foundation began an Oral History Project, collecting first person histories in the Springfield area. Cullom Davis, Professor Emeritus of UIS, trained and led a dozen volunteers, with support from Terri Jackson, Director of the Multi-Cultural Center at UIS and Katheryn Harris, Director of the Illinois State Historical Library. This Project collected over 65 oral histories, with 45 transcribed; these oral histories are now hosted on the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum and are available to the public.

After this successful effort, the Foundation decided to establish the Springfield and Central Illinois African American History Museum (“AAHM”). In February 2012, this Museum opened at 521 E. Washington Street, across from the old State Capitol. The Museum original Board included Jerrie Blakely, Linda Bollensen, Peter Boltuc, Richard Bowen, Rudy Davenport, Cullom Davis, Robert Davis, Barbara Dickerman, Orville Ewing, Richard Hart, Douglas King, Archie Lawrence, Edwin Lee Jr., Mary Jane Logan and Dr. Victoria Johnson. This Museum received significant financial support from Robert Church, Carolyn and Curtis Farrar, Fletcher Farrar, Dr. Matthew and Dorothy Holden, Robert Moore, Charlotte E. Johnson Jackie Rice, Austin and Mary Hardy-Randolph, Beverly Helm Renfro, Robert Sill, Sheila Stocks-Smith and Union Baptist Church. The Museum established its goal as the education of residents and visitors to Central Illinois about the African American experience, through research, collection, preservation, and interpretation of this experience.

In March 2016, the Museum opened at its present location: 1440 Monument Avenue, Springfield, Illinois.

About Us

Board of Directors and Staff

Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Staff

Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Mission, Vision and Values

Mission

Vision

Values

History

About Us

Board of Directors and Staff

Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Staff

Board of Directors

Board of Directors

Mission, Vision and Values

Mission

Vision

Values

History

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