About Us:
You know having an African American Museum in any location is a great thing. Now that we have one in the East Texas area, it makes it even better.
African Americans have done so much over the years and have most gone unnoticed and unrecognized, and I think the time has come for it to be recognized.
We have the National African American Museum in Washington DC and I think that's great, but I think that so much individual history that’s available throughout each city in America, it’s a great thing to say that over the years, part of it out of necessity to survive, and part of it in the uniqueness of the people that were part of it.
Throughout history, as I am finding out, as I am doing research, things were created, things were done to make life a little bit easier, and this is what created things, we are constantly staying together, so that people could survive and be successful and see some type of success, and I think their capturing that information and being able to put it in one place is outstanding.
I realize it's so much that we can not do that you know, and I think that as I talk to people now, I'm finding out to say, really working all about the history, but they don't want to know about the history as well, because this makes them to kind of reflect about and talk about where they've come from, so they can appreciate where they are trying to go.
I think one of the big issues of why this is important, that we have replaced it, is holding and storing information.
You know the bigger thing about history is, as I’ve said how often, is that we believe in history each day, we don't think about it that way, we're just trying to live life, that every day that we are alive is a day in history, and the things that we do on a daily basis affect what the future is, so it does matter if a person matters because what they do affect history, maybe a hundred years from now. They might think of it being insignificant now, but it is important in the future.
Twenty to thirty years from now, people that you work with, associate with, marry or go into business with, those combinations actually play out themselves in the future, in a whole different manner, they may be distorted out in the beginning, and I think that Museum is going to give people that opportunity to see how ideas, and hope and dreams that people have, maybe fifty to a hundred years ago, how they are now manifesting themselves in lives, in the towns that they live in at this moment, we still got a long way to go, we're not there by the least in any form of fashion, and I think that you know understanding our past would help us have a better future.
That's the only way we are going to do it though. I think we forget about the past, then we won't have a future at all, because we’re actually going to be going right back around the book, creating the same thing that were created fifty years ago, to try to deal with whether we can take and learn from those who already created, so they will say and see where they are, I’ve seen were they were and where they are now, I think that would help to do what we need to do.
So I think it's a great thing that we have the Museum in East Texas, that we are looking to expand it to other areas as well, I think that it's great that we are trying to capture the different moments and times of people in their lives, and what's their impact ahead in the future or in the present of the city that they live at the present time, but I think the most important thing is, I think it's great to capture the past, because it will allow to have a better future, because we can appreciate what we've come from, so we can then know where we are trying to go, so I just want to encourage all of those who have an opportunity to go to the Museum to be a part of the Museum, to contribute to the Museum, to you know, do it whole heartedly, because one little thing that you think might be insignificant t you, it could be great history.
It is a work in progress, it will never be done, true there is a website, there's the physical occasion, but the history change every day, and so with that being said, it's going to be important that we capture it.
Right now we are living on the age, our generation that we are in right now, so in their fifties and sixties year old, they were the last ones to have contact with the eighteen hundred, before people from the eighteen hundred, now the people by that time would be thirty years old down the same with the people that were eighteen hundred that already passed away.
So we have the memories of the people who were in those eighteen hundred, we are the ones to make contact with people actually, not even people being born in slavery and be able to tell about it, so I think that we have a lot of responsibility and we've just got to make sure that we take the time, take the time to put this down, put this information down, so that people don't forget, people are aware of what is going on, and people remember the past, because by remembering the past, you can always have a better future, so with that being said I just want to encourage you all to keep pushing, keep walking, keep building, keep digging, keep finding, keep educating and never give up on that because it is a lifelong learning process, and as you learn information, share it with others so that then all of us can grow and do better.
Those are my thoughts about the Museum, thoughts about what where you are and what you are doing, thoughts about where we are going with it, and thoughts about how I can make it better, so with that being said, thank you.
Thoughts by Milton Wallace of Chandler Texas
You know having an African American Museum in any location is a great thing. Now that we have one in the East Texas area, it makes it even better.
African Americans have done so much over the years and have most gone unnoticed and unrecognized, and I think the time has come for it to be recognized.
We have the National African American Museum in Washington DC and I think that's great, but I think that so much individual history that’s available throughout each city in America, it’s a great thing to say that over the years, part of it out of necessity to survive, and part of it in the uniqueness of the people that were part of it.
Throughout history, as I am finding out, as I am doing research, things were created, things were done to make life a little bit easier, and this is what created things, we are constantly staying together, so that people could survive and be successful and see some type of success, and I think their capturing that information and being able to put it in one place is outstanding.
I realize it's so much that we can not do that you know, and I think that as I talk to people now, I'm finding out to say, really working all about the history, but they don't want to know about the history as well, because this makes them to kind of reflect about and talk about where they've come from, so they can appreciate where they are trying to go.
I think one of the big issues of why this is important, that we have replaced it, is holding and storing information.
You know the bigger thing about history is, as I’ve said how often, is that we believe in history each day, we don't think about it that way, we're just trying to live life, that every day that we are alive is a day in history, and the things that we do on a daily basis affect what the future is, so it does matter if a person matters because what they do affect history, maybe a hundred years from now. They might think of it being insignificant now, but it is important in the future.
Twenty to thirty years from now, people that you work with, associate with, marry or go into business with, those combinations actually play out themselves in the future, in a whole different manner, they may be distorted out in the beginning, and I think that Museum is going to give people that opportunity to see how ideas, and hope and dreams that people have, maybe fifty to a hundred years ago, how they are now manifesting themselves in lives, in the towns that they live in at this moment, we still got a long way to go, we're not there by the least in any form of fashion, and I think that you know understanding our past would help us have a better future.
That's the only way we are going to do it though. I think we forget about the past, then we won't have a future at all, because we’re actually going to be going right back around the book, creating the same thing that were created fifty years ago, to try to deal with whether we can take and learn from those who already created, so they will say and see where they are, I’ve seen were they were and where they are now, I think that would help to do what we need to do.
So I think it's a great thing that we have the Museum in East Texas, that we are looking to expand it to other areas as well, I think that it's great that we are trying to capture the different moments and times of people in their lives, and what's their impact ahead in the future or in the present of the city that they live at the present time, but I think the most important thing is, I think it's great to capture the past, because it will allow to have a better future, because we can appreciate what we've come from, so we can then know where we are trying to go, so I just want to encourage all of those who have an opportunity to go to the Museum to be a part of the Museum, to contribute to the Museum, to you know, do it whole heartedly, because one little thing that you think might be insignificant t you, it could be great history.
It is a work in progress, it will never be done, true there is a website, there's the physical occasion, but the history change every day, and so with that being said, it's going to be important that we capture it.
Right now we are living on the age, our generation that we are in right now, so in their fifties and sixties year old, they were the last ones to have contact with the eighteen hundred, before people from the eighteen hundred, now the people by that time would be thirty years old down the same with the people that were eighteen hundred that already passed away.
So we have the memories of the people who were in those eighteen hundred, we are the ones to make contact with people actually, not even people being born in slavery and be able to tell about it, so I think that we have a lot of responsibility and we've just got to make sure that we take the time, take the time to put this down, put this information down, so that people don't forget, people are aware of what is going on, and people remember the past, because by remembering the past, you can always have a better future, so with that being said I just want to encourage you all to keep pushing, keep walking, keep building, keep digging, keep finding, keep educating and never give up on that because it is a lifelong learning process, and as you learn information, share it with others so that then all of us can grow and do better.
Those are my thoughts about the Museum, thoughts about what where you are and what you are doing, thoughts about where we are going with it, and thoughts about how I can make it better, so with that being said, thank you.
Thoughts by Milton Wallace of Chandler Texas