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| Museum Fact Page | |
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MISSION STATEMENT
VISION STATEMENT Our History
In 1965, he established Detroit's first Our present
In 1985, the Afro-American Museum and the City of Detroit formed a partnership to build a new facility in the city's University Cultural Center, securing the funding to complete the $3.5 million facility. The name of the International Afro-American Museum was changed to the Our future
With the support of Mayor Dennis Archer, the Museum campaigned for an additional $10 million bond to complete the new MAAH. In August 1996, the community continued to show its support for the Museum by passing Proposal B with a 72% voter's approval. More than 30 years later, the reality of Dr. Charles Wright's vision will reach national and international audiences with the opening of the new Museum of African American History on April 12, 1997. Location Maps
Museum Hours: Museum Admission: Main Line:
(313) 494- 5800;
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Dr. Charles Wright,
an obstetrician and gynecologist, envisioned an institution to preserve Black history
after visiting a memorial to Danish World War II heroes in Denmark. As a result of this
visit, he was convinced that Black Americans needed a similar resource center to document,
preserve and educate the public on their history, life and culture.
International Afro-American Museum. The museum, known by the acronym IAM,
opened on West Grand Boulevard with dozens of exhibits showcasing such items as African
masks from Nigeria and Ghana and the inventions of Elijah McCoy. A year later, the IAM
traveling museum, housed in a converted mobile home, began touring the state and spreading
information about the contributions of African Americans. The Museum quickly outgrew its
quarters. 
In the fall of 1978, the City
of Detroit agreed to lease the Museum a plot of land between John R and Brush to build a
facility five times larger than its predecessor. In order to raise funds, Detroit Public
School students participated in a "Buy a Brick" campaign, raising $80,000 for
the new facility. Following the students' initiative, a group of adults started the
Million Dollar Club in which each member pledged at least $1,000. This major fundraiser
earned $300,000. 
Museum of African American History
and ground was broken for the last facility on May 21, 1985. Two years later, the doors of
the Museum of African American History were reopened to the public at 301 Frederick
Douglass, Detroit, Michigan. The new 28,000 square foot structure was anchored by a
permanent exhibit that examined the richness of African civilization from the "Middle
Passage" to the Underground Railroad in the escape to freedom. With a series of
exhibits, lectures, concerts, cultural celebrations, festivals and programs designed
especially for children, it preserved the past and strengthened the future. 
In 1992, Detroit voters
authorized the City of Detroit to sell construction bonds to finance a larger, more
accommodating building. Ground was broken for the third generation of the Museum in August
of 1993. This new 120,000 square foot state-of-the-art facility will be the largest
African American historical museum in the world.
