Posey County Historic Marker

On a hilltop overlooking Montgomery is the nation’s first comprehensive memorial dedicated to the legacy of Black Americans who were enslaved, terrorized by lynching, humiliated by racial segregation, and presumed guilty and dangerous.

More than 4,400 Black people killed in racial terror lynchings between 1877 and 1950 are remembered here. Their names are engraved on more than 800 corten steel monuments—one for each county where a racial terror lynching took place—that form the main structure of the memorial at the heart of this six-acre site.

For nearly two decades the Jim Crow Museum has used contemporary racist and primarily anti-Black artifacts to tell the story of African American resiliency. It is a teaching model which has been wildly successful, and now is the time to expand that story. As we embark on the construction of a new museum, archive, and research facility, we need champions who will help us keep our work moving forward.

Together, a better world is possible.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. It was established by an Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans. To date, the Museum has collected more than 40,000 artifacts and nearly 100,000 individuals have become members. The Museum opened to the public on September 24, 2016, as the 19th museum of the Smithsonian Institution.

There are four pillars upon which the NMAAHC stands:

It provides an opportunity for those who are interested in African American culture to explore and revel in this history through interactive exhibitions

It helps all Americans see how their stories, their histories, and their cultures are shaped and informed by global influences

It explores what it means to be an American and share how American values like resiliency, optimism, and spirituality are reflected in African American history and culture

It serves as a place of collaboration that reaches beyond Washington, D.C. to engage new audiences and to work with the myriad of museums and educational institutions that have explored and preserved this important history well before this museum was created.
The NMAAHC is a public institution open to all, where anyone is welcome to participate, collaborate, and learn more about African American history and culture. In the words of Lonnie G. Bunch III, founding director of the Museum, “there are few things as powerful and as important as a people, as a nation that is steeped in its history.”

The SEEK MUSEUM tells the unique and buried stories about slavery and the related struggles for freedom, equality and justice. These stories are told in 7 historic buildings located in two National Register Districts in Russellville Kentucky, and educational exhibits have been installed that encourage visitors to seek knowledge, truth and understanding of these important issues.