Ozarks Afro-American Heritage Museum May Close

[cornermouse]

http://ozarksfirst.com/fulltext/?nxd_id=282485

An Ozarks museum that honors the history of black families in southwest Missouri shells out about $700 a month to keep the doors open.

But KOLR/KSFX learned the cultural center has a cash crunch and may be forced to close.

"I've learned the mark of a good slave wasn't to please their master, but please god and themselves," says Father Moses Berry of Ash Grove.

Berry is a descendant of slaves that were forced into work in northwest Greene County. He's also the driving force behind the Ozarks Afro-American Heritage Museum.

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An FYI in case anyone might have money and some interest in saving it.

[theHandpuppet]

1. Here's a link to their web site

http://www.oaahm.org/

Donations can be made via PayPal.

[MadHound]

2. I'm impressed that this opened in SW Missouri, and there hasn't been any violence.

I'm not surprised that they're not receiving much help or support. SW Missouri is still one of the most conservative, racist places in this country.

Wonder if this museum tells the story of why there are so few African Americans in Springfield. Apparently during the mid-twenties there was a black man who was lynched for daring to look at a white woman. The entire African American community, which was fairly substantial, simply picked up and moved out of town, leaving behind stores, homes, etc. They really didn't come back for four decades.

Wonder if they tell the tale that happened about a decade ago. About the teen age African American boy who dated a white girl. Wound up hanging from a local radio tower. Authorities ruled it a suicide, though they never did explain how this kid climbed the tower, fixed the rope and hung himself with his hands tied.

I wish these people the best, and if I had some spare cash I would send it along. Sadly, I don't.