The International African American Museum (IAAM) is launching a series of online and in-person events in advance of its official opening later this year.
Malika N. Pryor, chief learning and engagement officer for IAAM, said the events the museum scheduled for the coming months provide valuable educational information to Charlestonians while the museum prepares to open after an unexpected delay.
“While we look forward to welcoming visitors to the museum in the coming months,” she said, “in the meantime, we encourage folks to engage with our programming honoring how African American labor, resistance and ingenuity has shaped our country and our world. We hope these events will provide a preview of the type of educational content we will regularly curate once we open our physical doors.”
According to the museum, the programming will celebrate the lives and legacies of the African American community, and will also offer a wide range of educational content. IAAM’s slate of insightful programming begins in February during Black History Month and runs through the end of March.
Black History Month webinar series
A Black History Month webinar series begins Feb. 4 and hosts three various panel discussions on each Saturday of the month.
- The Feb. 4 webinar African American Genealogy Challenges discusses the challenges of African American genealogy research and numerous resources individuals can use to research their African American ancestry.
- The following panel, Getting Started with Lowcountry Genealogy, Feb. 11 provides information about genealogy research in the Lowcountry region.
- On Feb. 18, the webinar Researching for the United States Colored Troops discusses the group’s role in the Civil War and how USCT research can offer valuable military history and African American genealogy information.
- The Charleston Domestic Slave Trade panel on Feb. 25 will feature Charleston author Magaret Seidler. Seidler will talk about genealogical research she conducted that led to the discovery of her ancestor’s slave brokerage business formerly located on Broad Street in downtown Charleston.
In-person programming
IAAM will also offer in-person events beginning at the end of February and running through March.
During a Feb. 21 event at IAAM called “First, There Was The Word: Conversations With Authors Who Are Theologians,” doctoral candidate Funlayo E. Wood will explore African religious traditions, their history and more.
First Baptist Church of James Island will host an event March 11 to teach audiences about the meaning, style, purpose and language of Lowcountry’s ancestral music heritage.
Every Saturday starting March 4, a storytelling program will celebrate Women’s History Month by discussing African American women who are vital parts of American history. This event series will take place in the museum’s African Ancestral Memorial Garden and will also provide engaging take-home activities following each story.
For more information on IAAM, or to register for the museum’s events, click here.
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