Background

The idea of the museum began as a bike ride experience, then an event series, and finished as a museum. I didn't get the traction that I wanted from local institutions so something said " I'm gonna create my own museum.. and it needs to be in Covington." I found a place and from there the idea of having a museum became more and more real. Everytime I tell someone "I'm creating a museum" people immediately respond "where at?" I think the response should first be "a museum about what?" It's because of this response that I think that the focus on place and location should be deprioritized.

Black Americans often look to other groups across the diaspora for their distinct culture like Jamaican, Trini, others across the Caribbean,  and the Continent. Even in the United States, we look to New Orleans, DC, New York, and other cities for their culture. I want us to value our own culture and history first for ourselves. Yes, we have disparities, poverty, and violence but we are more than that. WE ARE NOT VICTIMS. Funk music was stated here, King Records, ppl look to Cincinnati for lessons, Cincinnati had the 3rd largest economy in the 19th century. We are a significant part of American culture; where the Midwest meets the South!

Mission

Our mission is to restore the memory and hope/souls of Black people in the Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati area through the use of educational programming, exhibitions, and research.

• Reunite black people on both sides of the Ohio River
• Show local history and culture through a black lens to show how black ppl shape and have been shaped by Northern Kentucky & Cincinnati, and the places around it
• Inspire and educate generations of culture bearers. to REUNITE Northern KY and Cincinnati!!!
• Instill a pride in PEOPLE who make the PLACE what it is
• Shape and continue cultural traditions that bring together generations and maintain a collective memory. To archive our stories of today. 
• Showcase contemporary freedom
• Create better understanding of national and global history through a local perspective 
• Show people who we are and whose we are
• Spark imagination to design a brighter tomorrow 
• Remember how we arrived here and to keep stories alive. to instill a sense of pride today and hope for tomorrow.
• black ppl in the area arrived here through different ways. show these collective stories. it's as if we know racism and slavery existed but we've forgotten who we are. every region has unique and distinct cultural. we have to contextualize national and global thing to physically see how it effects our day-to-day lives. many blacks in the area arrived by way of the great migration. the underground Railroad is too far away. we have more contemporary issues. I want to really highlight the great migration. I want to highlight things unique to cincy.
• to gather insights and address inequities that can lead toward structural and policy change

Where will the museum be?

• Ideally, the museum would be headquartered in Northern Kentucky because it's the gateway to Cincinnati from the south. I want for Cincinnatians to visit Northern KY to get their history and Northern KY people to visit Cincinnati. I imagine scattered sites
• We should think differently about the format and function of a museum. You have to ask what the values are of the museum and the number one value is accessibility in all forms.
  • I literally want the museum and its content to meet people where they are but also knowing that nothing is a substitute for the feeling of visiting a physical museum. I think that we can work from the ground up to collectively design something that our community wants and that takes time and input.
  • I want the museum to be located in local libraries, recreation centers, schools, bars, restaurants, apartment buildings, sidewalks, youth programs, you name it.
  • I want the museum to be online, make it virtual, perhaps through an app. I want to create a complimentary curriculum for youth in our area of all ages, starting with preschool.
  • I want to create holidays and traditions. you don't need a building for that.