The Upper South Museum & Culture Center is not an individual organization but a coalition of individuals and organizations invested in a single mission, to show local history and culture through a Black lens.
Leader
phrie negreaux
Location
1 Vine Street Cincinnati, OH 45202
The Valley Folk Institute is a global environmental education think tank and consultancy. We conduct independent grassroots community level research on folklife and culture to repair our relationship to the built and natural environments. While global, the institute has strong foundations in the Ohio River Valley and it is our primary site of investigation with our overarching goal of strengthening the Ohio River Valley as a cultural heritage region and (decolonial) landscape.
August-September 2022- Project Research and Content Development
September-October 2022- Curriculum Development
October -November 2022- Project Implementation
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.
Where will the museum be?