This presentation uses music to explore African American history, from the African beats to the jazz of the Harlem Renaissance to the popular music of the Civil Rights movement. The influences of traditional African music can be seen in the spirituals sung by African Americans while they worked as slaves, elements of spirituals can be […]
An African American woman’s Sunday hat is her crowning glory—it announces to the world that here is a beautiful, sophisticated, confident person. But Sunday is just one day of the week, and her Sunday hat is just one of the many “hats” she wears. It takes an extraordinary woman to wear all of these hats—professional, […]
Based off the AAMI’s 2012 temporary exhibit of the same name, “The Only One” explores the experiences of Iowans who were the only African American on a sports team, in a classroom, at work, and in other situations. Learn about Alexander Clark, who integrated Iowa schools in 1868 when his daughter Susan enrolled in Muscatine […]
Discover the proud history of African American service people in the United States military from the Revolutionary War to the present. Topics include African American Iowans in the Civil War, the Buffalo Soldiers, the Tuskegee Airmen of World War II, desegregation of the armed forces, and many more. About the Series: Join us at the […]
Visit Buxton, a bustling mining town at the turn of the last century. This important place in Iowa’s history was referred to as a “utopia” by the majority of the town’s residents, African Americans who were welcomed with little racism and discrimination. Step into the YMCAs, visit the elementary schools, and meet some of Buxton’s […]
