It was a day of reflection, remembrance and community for attendees of the panel 400 Years: African American Past and Presence, held at the George Washington Carver Museum & Cultural Center on December 3.
2019 marks the 400 year anniversary of enslaved Africans brought to the Virginia colony to farm tobacco, but also a rebirth for the future of the museum.
At the event were presentations by Arizona State University professor Lois Brown, Princess Crump, president of the museum’s board of directors, ASU Professor Calvin Schermerhorn, and L’Merchie Frazier, a fiber artist.
The George Washington Carver Museum & Cultural Center was a deliberate choice for the event. It was built in 1925 and used as a school to accommodate black students during segregation. It closed a year after Arizona’s desegregation in 1953 and became a warehouse.
Crump said alumni who graduated as early as 1934 purchased back their school in 1996 and turned it into a community center.
Sakena Young-Scaggs opened the panel with an invocation and toast to honor the ancestors of the black community and all attendees.
Brown spoke to the audience at the event about well-known black heroes such as the museum’s namesake, George Washington Carver, as well as victims of slavery who receive little recognition, including an unidentified black man who died in Arizona, known only on his death certificate as “negro, name unknown.”
Schermerhorn spoke with audience members about the theme of ‘plundering’, and its systematic relationship with black lives throughout history.
Frazier spoke of the significance of her work, notably involving beads, as African slaves, transported in ships like cargo, were traded in France for up to 200 barrels of beads.
Frazier’s multimedia art was displayed upon the walls of the Carver Museum, accompanied by detailed explanations.
Brown said that the George Washington Carver Museum & Cultural Center is an important space for all people.
“It is part of a multifaceted history that yes, includes histories of exclusion and segregation, and denigration, but also incredible education and support and expectation.”
Crump said the George Washington Carver Museum & Cultural Center will continue to be used as a space for education and may soon introduce programs back into the building.
“We’re looking at partnering and trying to bring on a trade school, reactivating the shop building,” said Crump. The trade school could reach Phoenix schools that lack resources to host certain programs, allowing space within the museum to be used instead.
“We’re bringing it back to be a significant contributor to the community.”
Contact the reporter at kdunnett@asu.edu.
