George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural and Genealogy Center
One of BAIA Foundation’s 2022 initiatives is instituting marketing assistance for African American Museums and Cultural Centers.
George Washington Carver was a genius. With his brilliance, he went on to become one of the most impactful inventors and agricultural scientists of the day. His concept of crop rotation was probably most instrumental. Following slavery, the soil was as sick and tired as the folks who were forced to work it. Carver figured out that by taking a break from cotton and planting nitrogen-fixing plants like peanuts, soybeans and sweet potatoes, then the soil would be restored and able to produce bigger harvests.
During his lifetime, he accomplished much and was celebrated by many. He traveled the world, including going to India to teach Gandhi about nutrition within vegetarian diets and tight budgets. He became most associated with peanuts after he was recruited by Booker T. Washington to work at Tuskegee Institute for less money but more impact. Although the peanuts did wonders for the land, it also left people with way too many peanuts than they knew what to do with. So he came up with over 300 ways to use and sell peanuts. He became known as the “Peanut Man” after making this peanut-presentation to the U.S. Congress in 1921.
For this man’s legacy to be reduced to inventing peanut butter, which isn’t even accurate, is insulting. So it’s worth every applause when black institutions choose to acknowledge his brilliance and honor his life by naming buildings after him. The “colored branch” library in Austin, Texas, renamed the George Washington Carver Branch Library in 1947, is one such institution.
Colored Branch Library of Austin, built in 1926. Credit: AustinTexas.Gov
After renovations to include a bigger library and a museum and cultural center, also came a new, more fitting name: the George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural and Genealogy Center. Further expanding again in 1988, the first African-American museum in Austin is now housed in a 36,000 square-foot facility, consisting of several galleries, conference room, classroom, darkroom, dance studio, theatre and archival space.
The Carver Museum, Cultural and Genealogy Center. Credit: Trip Advisor
The museum is not dedicated to the life and accomplishments of George Washington Carver but rather African American scientists and inventors (who were inevitably inspired by Carver). In its Artists’ Gallery, their central exhibit highlights Juneteenth and includes The African American Presence in 19th Century Texas, which, according to the museum’s website, “highlights the transition from African civilizations, to bonded servitude, to a precious but ever so fragile freedom in the United States of America.”
Their current Artists’ Gallery features the the Jamel Shabazz: Peace to the Queen photo exhibit which features four decades of black women in their glory. Visitors, local and virtually, have access to the museum’s past and permanent exhibits, giving a plethora of works of art to inform and inspire folks of all generations and walks of life.
The George Washington Carver Museum also houses the genealogy center—owned and operated by the City of Austin Parks and Recreation Department, Division of Museums and Cultural Programs—which serves as a public resource for learning family history. Here, visitors can utilize the center’s computers for research, print documents, attend monthly seminars, informational workshops, and even donate their family’s history to the museum for safe keeping.
While the museum stands to preserve and honor the legacy of local African Americans, scientists, and inventors, there also exists a space to safely create, heal, learn, and express through their various healing workshops, book clubs, podcasts, camps, and art studio sessions for children and adults.
Learn more about the George Washington Carver Museum, Cultural and Genealogy Center
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