{"id":1827,"date":"2017-11-16T18:22:01","date_gmt":"2017-11-16T18:22:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/media-archive.blackartinamerica.com\/?p=1827"},"modified":"2017-11-16T18:22:01","modified_gmt":"2017-11-16T18:22:01","slug":"a-call-for-equity-in-houston-cultural-funding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earthexhibitions.org\/media-archive\/?p=1827","title":{"rendered":"A CALL FOR EQUITY IN HOUSTON CULTURAL FUNDING"},"content":{"rendered":"

BAIA Talks:<\/span> John Guess, Jr., founder of the Houston Museum of African American Culture\u00a0on Racial Disparities in Cultural Funding<\/p>\n\n

\"\"<\/h1>\n

<\/h1>\n

<\/h1>\n

<\/h1>\n

<\/h1>\n

<\/h1>\n

<\/h2>\n

<\/h2>\n

A CALL FOR EQUITY IN HOUSTON CULTURAL FUNDING<\/h2>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
Houston\u2019s arts and culture funding fails miserably in its support of African<\/strong><\/div>\n
American cultural assets.<\/strong> While Houston is lauded in philanthropic circles as a<\/div>\n
giving city, The Center for Houston\u2019s Future\u2019s (CHF) 2014 Arts and Cultural<\/div>\n
Heritage study indicated what is universally known to people of color; that is,<\/div>\n
while the Houston region benefits from an exceptionally generous body of<\/div>\n
philanthropists, less than 2% of Houston\u2019s philanthropic dollars go to cultural<\/div>\n
institutions of color. Philanthropic funding for African American and of color<\/div>\n
cultural organizations is abysmal. In a city that touts itself as the most diverse<\/div>\n
city in the country, the economic picture is different; Houston is one of the five<\/div>\n
most economically segregated cities in the United States. Statistically it appears<\/div>\n
inclusion is not a philanthropic or public goal.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Major Houston Foundation Funding of Of Color and\/or African American<\/strong><\/div>\n
Cultural Organizations<\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
2016<\/strong><\/div>\n
Brown Foundation Arts and Culture<\/strong><\/div>\n
$25 million plus awarded, $55,000 for organizations of color (.0022%)<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Cullen Foundation Culture\u00a0<\/strong><\/div>\n
$3 million plus awarded, $0 for organizations of color<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
2015<\/strong><\/div>\n
Hamman Foundation<\/strong><\/div>\n
$4 million plus awarded, $20,000 for organizations of color (.005%)<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Houston Endowment<\/strong><\/div>\n
$56 million plus awarded, $2.5 million for African American organizations ($2.1<\/div>\n
million to TSU and PVAMU or 3.75%), leaving $400,000 for all others (.007%)<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
2014<\/strong><\/div>\n
Fondren Foundation<\/strong><\/div>\n
$16 million plus awarded, $250,000 for organizations of color (.0156%)<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Wortham Foundaton<\/strong><\/div>\n
$11 million awarded, $10,000 for organizations of color (.0009%)<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
One of the above foundations indicated in writing to HMAAC that it need<\/strong><\/div>\n
not apply again to it for funds.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
To be fair, foundation support is not intended to be an annual source of operating<\/div>\n
funds. It is support that enables African American assets to get off the ground, to<\/div>\n
attain sustainability and to extend community involvement. It should exist<\/div>\n
alongside institutional efforts to earn income through creation of value deriving<\/div>\n
from assets events and programs. But it must exist in a substantial way over a<\/div>\n
number of years, and, in the case of African American assets, it must allow for<\/div>\n
neighborhood interventions.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Public funding can differ from private philanthropy in its objective to support what<\/div>\n
are deemed public goods. Such funding in Houston and Texas falls far short of<\/div>\n
most national averages, and even shorter for African American assets. For<\/div>\n
example, the Houston Museum of African American Culture (HMAAC), is the<\/strong><\/div>\n
ONLY such museum in a major or mid-sized city that does not have its<\/strong><\/div>\n
building and annual operating budget funded with public funds as a public<\/strong><\/div>\n
good.<\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
A sampling of major African American museums reveals the following facility and\/<\/div>\n
or operating funding experience that is based on public funding. Here it is clear<\/div>\n
that HMAAC is an exception as an African American museum when it comes to<\/div>\n
public support:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u2022The Dallas African American Museum was built with $1.2 million from a 1985<\/div>\n
dollars City Bond election.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u2022The Museum of the African Diaspora in San Francisco facility cost of $5 million<\/div>\n
was funded by the City. The City also funds $500,000 of its $2.5 million<\/div>\n
operating budget.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u2022The Philadelphia African American Museum building was funded in 1976 dollars<\/div>\n
for $2.5 million for construction. The 2013 audited financials showed city<\/div>\n
contribution of $821,2521 of the museum’s $1,390,855 income.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u2022The California African American Museum is a state entity whose building was<\/div>\n
funded by the state, which contributes $2.5 of its $3.5 million operating budget.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u2022The Du Sable Museum in Chicago was started with $10 million in state grants<\/div>\n
for the building. Its 2013 financials show $1,749,046 of its $2,730,446 in<\/div>\n
operating revenues came from government grants.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u2022The Gantt African American Museum in Charlotte had its building financed by<\/div>\n
the City, which contributes to its operations as well.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u2022The Reginald Lewis Museum in Baltimore was constructed with $30 million in<\/div>\n
state and local funds. The state contributes $2 million of its $2.848 million in<\/div>\n
operating revenues.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
\u2022The African American Music Museum in Nashville is being built downtown with<\/div>\n
$1.8 Million from the City and $10 million from the METRO Government.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Last year (2016) funding for Houston\u2019s African American cultural assets, including<\/div>\n
HMAAC, the Community Artists Collective, the Urban Souls Dance Company, the<\/div>\n
Buffalo Soldiers National Museum, Project Row Houses, the Ensemble Theatre,<\/div>\n
the Shrine of the Black Madonna, the Nigerian American Multicultural Center and<\/div>\n
the Texas Center for African American Living History actually decreased while<\/div>\n
demand from the underserved African American community increased. HMAAC,<\/div>\n
the most visited African American cultural asset in Houston, knows only too well<\/div>\n
the funding underside of our city when it comes to race and ethnicity. Despite this<\/div>\n
funding void, HMAAC took it upon itself in 2016 and 2017 to become a funder as<\/div>\n
well as partner, investing over $60,000 of its already meager funds and<\/div>\n
resources in other African American cultural organizations to jointly present<\/div>\n
programs for our underserved community.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Notwithstanding the city\u2019s lack of funding support, institutions such as HMAAC<\/div>\n
have an important role to play if Houston is to become the model of American<\/div>\n
diversity current city leaders say they want it to be. The importance of such<\/div>\n
institutions to our neighborhoods is made evident by the current poverty in<\/div>\n
Houston and America\u2019s inner cities.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
A large number of African American neighborhoods throughout the United<\/strong><\/div>\n
States, including Houston, are stuck in intergenerational poverty and<\/strong><\/div>\n
economic disadvantage.<\/strong> New York University professor Patrick Starkey, in<\/div>\n
Stuck in Place: Urban Neighborhoods and the End of Progress toward Racial<\/em><\/div>\n
Equality<\/em>, cites the over 70 percent of African American children raised in the<\/div>\n
poorest and most segregated neighborhoods a generation ago now raising their<\/div>\n
own children in similar circumstances. \u201cThe persistence of intergenerational<\/div>\n
poverty and economic disadvantage,\u201d he writes, \u201cis thus inextricably linked to<\/div>\n
location and place.\u201d Consider Houston\u2019s Sunnyside neighborhood, historically<\/div>\n
segregated with little political clout and neglected public services, as a<\/div>\n
contemporary example of a \u201cstuck in place or decline\u201d neighborhood, where<\/div>\n
current public policy is either misguided and not working or in need of additional<\/div>\n
programmatic efforts.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
We know however the power of cultural capital to empower individuals and<\/strong><\/div>\n
neighborhoods.<\/strong> We know that if you grow up in a cultural environment, it is<\/div>\n
natural for you to engage in arts and culture, and research shows that<\/div>\n
communities and individuals who have and build cultural capital are more.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
confident and assertive. Communities as a whole and individuals possessing<\/div>\n
cultural capital tend to be better educated and tend to pass on these qualities to<\/div>\n
their children. In African American communities possession of cultural capital<\/div>\n
means more participation in social, economic and political activities over<\/div>\n
generations and can be a critical component to ending intergenerational poverty.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
We know additionally that cultural assets, through which cultural capital<\/strong><\/div>\n
can be obtained, affect high opportunity.<\/strong> Neighborhoods that are<\/div>\n
characterized by safer streets, good schools, greater levels of civic involvement<\/div>\n
and access to better jobs, in public policy terms are \u201chigh opportunity\u201d<\/div>\n
neighborhoods, where these factors act to alleviate income inequality and help<\/div>\n
halt the cycle of poverty. Leading social and economic analysts like the University<\/div>\n
of Pennsylvania\u2019s Social Impact of the Arts Project\u2019s Mark J. Stern would add the<\/div>\n
existence of cultural assets to the list of characteristics of high opportunity<\/div>\n
neighborhoods. In his Rethinking Social Impact: We Can\u2019t Talk about Social Well-<\/div>\n
being without the Arts & Culture, Stern found \u201cthe presence of cultural assets in<\/div>\n
urban neighborhoods was associated with economic improvements, including<\/div>\n
declines in poverty.\u201d Additionally, his research found the arts to be associated<\/div>\n
with preserving ethnic and racial diversity, reduced ethnic harassment rates and<\/div>\n
lower rates of social distress.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Given these findings, HMAAC decided that museums focus too much on getting<\/div>\n
the public to visit on the museum\u2019s terms, and not enough on creating a cultural<\/div>\n
community based in the neighborhoods where our visitors reside. Our added<\/div>\n
emphasis on building cultural capital in our neighborhoods allows us to escape<\/div>\n
the current paradigm that our political and philanthropic elites are wedded to; that<\/div>\n
is, the strategy of remediation of wrongs rather than individual and community<\/div>\n
empowerment. Cultural capital is not created by community Christmas tree<\/div>\n
lightings or Thanksgiving free meals. Nor is it created by painted utility sites<\/div>\n
without message that erroneously suggest an integration of artists and<\/div>\n
community. There is no community empowerment in these actions. We fully<\/div>\n
recognize that other neighborhoods that are not of color in our city have cultural<\/div>\n
assets and gain the cultural capital derived from interaction with them, and we<\/div>\n
fully understand the different (from ours) economic and social narrative such<\/div>\n
assets and capital provide them with.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
To build cultural capital in low income and African American neighborhoods, we<\/div>\n
must provide these neighborhoods with cultural assets. As a result, HMAAC has<\/div>\n
become a museum in a building AND in the community, and is about to expand<\/div>\n
\n

to being a museum in digital space. We now connect with the public through<\/p>\n

active, values-aligned partnerships in Houston\u2019s African American<\/div>\n
neighborhoods, with the goal of engaging these communities in cultural<\/div>\n
conversations, and thereby expand the influence of the museum as a vehicle of<\/div>\n
empowerment beyond destination visits, which currently are the mainstay of<\/div>\n
museums.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
When one considers the work done by poorly funded African American assets,<\/div>\n
the work truly is extraordinary; the summer art classes held throughout the city<\/div>\n
and exhibits organized at the Community Artists Collective (CAC), the kids taught<\/div>\n
dance and discipline by the Urban Souls Dance Company (USDC), the kids and<\/div>\n
adults taught history by the Texas Center for African American Living History<\/div>\n
(TCAALH) in Houston and across the state, the Third Ward community<\/div>\n
engagement of Project Row Houses (PRH), the Young Actors Program of the<\/div>\n
Ensemble Theatre every summer, the reenactments by Buffalo Soldiers National<\/div>\n
Museums (BSNM) at venues across the city, the business and cultural events<\/div>\n
across the city sponsored by the Nigerian American Multicultural Center (NAMC),<\/div>\n
and the the self-determination values taught through the Shrine of the Black<\/div>\n
Madonna (the Shrine).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Then consider the results of that work: kids and adults whose achievement is<\/div>\n
greater than those not so lucky to be exposed to these fine organizations. Yes<\/div>\n
you can count them; the actors gaining national prominence who started at the<\/div>\n
Ensemble Theatre, the officers and other service men and women serving our<\/div>\n
country because their eyes were opened to African American military involvement<\/div>\n
by the BSNM, the artists nationally recognized from their exposure at PRH, the<\/div>\n
dancers who have gone on to participate in university dance companies because<\/div>\n
they were given opportunity by the USDC, the many civic minded individuals<\/div>\n
engaged by programs by NAMC, the high school and university history students<\/div>\n
and teachers inspired by the experiences gained from the TCAALH, the<\/div>\n
individuals who reinvest into our communities as a result of the programs they<\/div>\n
experienced at the Shrine, the many kids taught art and the prominent artists<\/div>\n
across the country whose initial exhibitions were at the CAC, and the thousands<\/div>\n
of individuals young and not so young engaged every day in our neighborhoods<\/div>\n
by messages The World Needs What You Have to Give, or These Lives Matter or<\/div>\n
Be At Your Best on murals HMAAC has funded in Wheatley and Kashmere high<\/div>\n
schools and on prominent African American owned buildings in our communities.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Now consider the impact on our city, on our nation, if these assets had<\/div>\n
comparable funding and capacity of those institutions where our philanthropic<\/div>\n
dollars currently flow, or a fraction of it (still meaning in the millions of dollars).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
Consider the neighborhoods changed by the cultural capital and empowerment<\/div>\n
these African American assets bring to individuals and our communities.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Conclusion<\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
As HMAAC has noted before in a previous White Paper on the deficits of<\/div>\n
Houston\u2019s Cultural Plan, African American neighborhoods are standing at a<\/div>\n
crossroads of location and place: On one side stands intergenerational poverty,<\/div>\n
and on the other, the transformative value of cultural assets located in these<\/div>\n
neighborhoods. The long road for the Sunnyside neighborhoods of Houston and<\/div>\n
the nation to become high opportunity ones begins not only with resolving food<\/div>\n
deserts and improved public services but with the provision of cultural assets as<\/div>\n
well, something HMAAC has proved can be done with minimal funds and in the<\/div>\n
face of startling underfunding. But what we are currently doing with less is just<\/div>\n
not enough. It is not enough. Our underserved communities deserve much more.<\/div>\n
They deserve the opportunity to be inspired by assets in neighborhoods that<\/div>\n
enrich intergenerational learning and the transfer of skills, that allow them to be a<\/div>\n
part of transformative communities that benefit from the realized potential of<\/div>\n
every child\u2019s dream, that have the power to change community narratives for the<\/div>\n
better if only by positive self reflection where they live.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
What if properly funded African American cultural assets could REALLY do our<\/div>\n
work. That is the unrealized benefit, the opportunity lost to our city, to our country<\/div>\n
and to the world by this racial inequity in philanthropic funding. Rationalizations<\/div>\n
for failure to fund African American assets are increasingly seen as excuses for<\/div>\n
thoughtless and capricious inaction or worse. Given this continuing lost<\/div>\n
opportunity in our neighborhoods, if Houston IS the model for the country on<\/div>\n
living and thriving together, we should have grave concerns about our future.<\/div>\n
What If our cultural assets continue to fail to gain local political or local foundation<\/div>\n
funding support, if we continue to be subject to racial inequities in cultural<\/div>\n
funding; no doubt the poverty of our neighborhoods, as has been the case, will<\/div>\n
stay the same.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
John Guess, Jr., CEO The Houston Museum of African American Culture<\/div>\n
Originally published September 6, 2017<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

HMAAC White Paper Addendum Today and Future<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/div>\n
About HMAAC<\/strong><\/div>\n
\n
\n
HMAAC’s Mission and Vision is to be a cultural portal through which people share and<\/div>\n
converge histories and contemporary experiences that acknowledge and expand the<\/div>\n
African American experience, and from such interactions, come together to build a<\/div>\n
common future.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
In six short years, HMAAC has become an influential entity in Houston and nationally.<\/div>\n
Named one of the Top Six African American museums in the country by Centric TV; one<\/div>\n
of the top three Small Museums by the Houston Press and one of the Best Museums in<\/div>\n
Houston by PaperCity, the museum was selected as a Case Study in Relevance by the<\/div>\n
Alliance of American Museums for its May national meeting in St. Louis and by<\/div>\n
MuseumNext as an example of a museum Taking A Stand at its American meeting in<\/div>\n
Portland, Oregon in October. The beneficiary of rapid, dynamic visitor growth in five<\/div>\n
years, rising to over 34,000 local, state, national and international visitors since opening<\/div>\n
its doors on a daily basis in February of 2012, HMAAC has become the most visited<\/div>\n
African American cultural asset in the city.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
These successes result from decisions made in defining our mission, vision and<\/div>\n
strategy. The first decision was to think expansively about our audiences to present not<\/div>\n
only African American and African cultures, but Latino, Anglo and others through<\/div>\n
exhibitions, programs and films that create dialogue about singular and joint<\/div>\n
experiences. Our exhibitions, programs and films make the point that the museum is an<\/div>\n
open place, one that emphasizes issues not only of race and ethnicity, but of gender<\/div>\n
and sexual orientation as well. The work of the museum’s strong messages of inclusion,<\/div>\n
self responsibility, collaboration and tolerance has, we are proud to say, become our<\/div>\n
brand in the community. This community buy-in of our message was the hope some<\/div>\n
seven years ago when the HMAAC board chose John Guess, Jr. to head this effort.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
HMAAC Today and into the Future<\/strong><\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
HMAAC is technically three different spaces- building, community, digital. In our main<\/div>\n
building we have presented:<\/div>\n
\u2022Nationally renowned exhibitions such as the Kinsey and Kelley Collections,<\/div>\n
\u2022artists including Otabenga Jones, Zina Saro-Wiwa, Eleanor Merritt, Ellen<\/div>\n
Kaplowitz, Danny Simmons, Benito Huerta, Nicole Miller, Malick Sidibe, Leslie<\/div>\n
Wayne, John Hernandez, David McGee and Faith Ringgold<\/div>\n
\u2022Partnered events with the Contemporary Arts Museum including musical<\/div>\n
performances by Theaster Gates, Pamela Z and Kalup Linzy<\/div>\n
\u2022A performance of a Latino and African American version of the Vagina<\/div>\n
Monologues<\/div>\n
\u2022Summer dance camp and Isteam camps for kids<\/div>\n
\u2022An Evening with renowned TSU Debate Coach Dr. Thomas Freeman<\/div>\n
\u2022Originated touring exhibitions including the Eleanor Merritt Retrospective, ROUX<\/div>\n
and the upcoming David McGee Works on Paper<\/div>\n
\u2022An Evening with renowned clothing designer Toni Whitaker<\/div>\n
\u2022Literary Lecturer Caine Prize Winner Tope Folarin<\/div>\n
\n
\u2022First organizational Meeting of the Nigerian American Chamber of Commerce co-<\/div>\n
sponsored by the Nigerian American Multicultural Center (NAMC)<\/div>\n
\u2022African Fashion show co-sponsored with NAMC<\/div>\n
\u2022Symposia including the renowned Afropolitans with the Johns Hopkins Center for<\/div>\n
Africana Studies, Art and Social Protest with renowned Curator Valerie Cassel<\/div>\n
Oliver and Princeton professor Chika Okeke-Agula and<\/div>\n
\u2022Cutting-edge film series, including being the first Museum partner in Ava<\/div>\n
Duvernay\u2019s ARRAY film distribution organization, co-sponsoring films with the<\/div>\n
Museum of Fine Arts Houston, hosting the Houston African Film Festival as<\/div>\n
partners with the renowned Silicon Valley African Film Festival and the first<\/div>\n
Queer Hippo Film Festival, and being a venue for Qfest and the Houston Cinema<\/div>\n
Arts Film Festival.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
For the community spaces, we have negotiated with private space owners and other<\/div>\n
cultural venues. These spaces are where we have presented:<\/div>\n
\u2022U. S. Poet Laureate Rita Dove at the Menil Collection,<\/div>\n
\u2022The Southwest premiere of Ifa Bayeza\u2019s Emmet Till for an extended run at and in<\/div>\n
partnership with the Ensemble Theatre<\/div>\n
\u2022The Fathers Day one man show by New York artist Kraal kayo Charles at<\/div>\n
Brentwood Baptist Church Learning Center<\/div>\n
\u2022The Kinsey Collection Lecture at the Houston Community College<\/div>\n
\u2022Tony Award winner Sarah Jones at Rice University,<\/div>\n
\u2022The symposium The African Presence in Mexico with the Johns Hopkins Center<\/div>\n
for Africana Studies at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston,<\/div>\n
\u2022The Urban Souls Dance Group at the Shrine of the Black Madonna and the<\/div>\n
University of Houston Clear Lake<\/div>\n
\u2022University of Maryland Law Professor Larry Gibson on Thurgood Marshall at the<\/div>\n
Thurgood Marshal Law School, Texas Southern University<\/div>\n
\u2022The Abolitionists Forum with Rice University Professor James Sidbury and Sam<\/div>\n
Houston State Professor Brian Jordan at the Jung Center<\/div>\n
\u2022Pulitzer Prize winner Isabel Wilkerson at the Houston Public Library<\/div>\n
\u2022Francisco Mora\u2019s Afrohorn performance at Multicultural Education and<\/div>\n
Counseling Through the Arts (MECA)<\/div>\n
\u2022Author Wes Moore at the Houston Public Library<\/div>\n
\u2022The Two and a Half Years Juneteenth concert at the Shrine of the Black<\/div>\n
Madonna<\/div>\n
\u2022The children\u2019s plays Jumpin Juba and Fugitives of Passion and the Urban Souls<\/div>\n
Dance Company at St. James Episcopal Church<\/div>\n
\u2022Best Selling Author Luvvie Ajayi at the Shrine of the Black Madonna<\/div>\n
\u2022Author Ellis Cose at the Ensemble Theatre<\/div>\n
\u2022The mural on\u00a0These Lives Matter\u00a0<\/em>at the Johnson Funeral Home in the Third<\/div>\n
Ward<\/div>\n
\u2022The murals on The World Needs What You Have to Give<\/em> in Wheatley High<\/div>\n
School and<\/div>\n
\u2022The mural Be At Your Best at the Dr. Albert Louis Medical Plaza in Sunnyside<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
HMAAC cannot be rivaled in terms of spacial presentations; from programs we have<\/div>\n
sponsored at the CAMH, the MFAH, the Menil, Rice University, the Shrine of the Black<\/div>\n
Madonna, St. James Episcopal Church, the UH Clear Lake, Texas Southern University,<\/div>\n
Brentwood Baptist Church, the Houston Community College, the Jung Center, MECA<\/div>\n
and even into Sunnyside parks. We have successfully used these places to bring<\/div>\n
people together, to have honest dialogue, to allow for the most diverse discussions in<\/div>\n
the most diverse spaces possible.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
And finally, we will be launching our digital space in September. For some time, we have<\/div>\n
been planning for our foray into the digital and collecting content. Our initial launch will<\/div>\n
include:<\/div>\n
\u2022An eight week Facebook series on Everyday Strangers, a global artist project<\/div>\n
HMAAC supports financially that includes travel to Brazil, Portugal, South Korea<\/div>\n
and Italy, and invites our audiences to learn a language and know other cultures.<\/div>\n
\u2022Our HMAAC produced films; Did the Barack Obama Presidency Improve the<\/div>\n
Lives of African Americans, HMAAC funded partner The Roundtable Convo\u2019s<\/div>\n
Gentrification, and I Grabbed Them By the Votes: Why Did 53% of White Women<\/div>\n
Vote for Donald Trump.<\/div>\n
\u2022Past programs such as:<\/div>\n
\u2022Our Abolitionists Conversation between Rice Professor James Sidbury and Sam<\/div>\n
Houston State Professor Brian Jordan,<\/div>\n
\u2022Our discussion with renowned TSU Debate Coach and Martin Luther King Jr.<\/div>\n
teacher, Dr. Thomas Freeman and Two Women Talking Business: A<\/div>\n
Conversation Between Sherra Aguirre and Donna Fujimoto Cole.<\/div>\n
\u2022Assorted content worth bringing to our audience from around the net.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Part of our digital expansion is planned virtual access to the museum, connecting users<\/div>\n
with objects in exhibitions that inspire, educate and expand the way they view the world<\/div>\n
around them. This initiative specifically explores the question: \u201cIn what way does this<\/div>\n
museum from this culture in this time inspire the life that you\u2019re living?\u201d It utilizes the<\/div>\n
physical museum concept of thinking about what happens when someone enters the<\/div>\n
museum space, interacts with it and what they take away with them.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
HMAAC has successfully endeavored to remain ahead of the curve, despite our<\/div>\n
arduous struggles for local support. Often, when we think about African American<\/div>\n
cultural institutions, there is a conversation about attendance- \u201cWhy aren\u2019t people<\/div>\n
coming? Why aren\u2019t people participating? We have this Black History Month program or<\/div>\n
this Women\u2019s History Month program, or this Asian-Pacific American Month program,<\/div>\n
why aren\u2019t people walking through the doors?\u201d At HMAAC, our performance is quite the<\/div>\n
opposite. Compared to the other African American and small cultural institutions in the<\/div>\n
city and country, we believe our attendance has risen so fast because we have simply<\/div>\n
yet aggressively extended an invitation to experience us with a free-admissions policy<\/div>\n
and minimal cost or donation-encouraged events, and a focus on the shared community<\/div>\n
experience of those who are underserved. In this way, we have never forgotten that our<\/div>\n
audience must always include those Houstonians most in need of access to authentic<\/div>\n
\n

cultural experiences – the young, those with little disposable income and those yearning<\/p>\n

for identity. We want the lowest of incomes to feel they have a place where they can<\/div>\n
experience culture and be empowered in the same way as people of wealth do. People<\/div>\n
need a one-to-one opportunity to engage and we think that one of the greatest<\/div>\n
successes of HMAAC as a cultural asset is that it has given people an avenue for entry<\/div>\n
into a shared community experience through individual as well as group engagement.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Another characteristic that has strengthened our brand is that we have been<\/div>\n
unapologetic in our pursuit of truth and authenticity with our conversations,<\/div>\n
collaborations, public presence and investment in the next generation. We have<\/div>\n
engaged our community, not simply with history, but with the topics of our time allowing<\/div>\n
the young and young-at-heart to help understand our contemporary experience and<\/div>\n
define our future as a community. HMAAC seeks to provide access and resources<\/div>\n
where they have been scarce and thereby elevate and transform our visitors lives<\/div>\n
empowering them to change our communities.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Share this:<\/h3>