Articles Tagged: African American Museum of Iowa

Cassell, who saw the African American Museum of Iowa through a multimillion-dollar expansion and renovation, is leaving to join Voices Underground in Pennsylvania.

Eighteen months and $5 million later, the museum is reopening to the public with a celebration that will showcase the museum’s exhibits, both new and returning.

A ribbon cutting Tuesday marked the anticipated reopening of not just a new building, but a new vision for the African American Museum of Iowa as it expands its statewide presence.

African American Museum turns to Cedar Rapids Museum of art for gallery space

Local leaders from the Black, religious, and historical communities helped create a permanent archive of 28 unmarked graves of black Iowans in Oak Hill Cemetery in southeast Cedar Rapids on Saturday.

The festival took place at the NewBo City Market from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. with celebrations including spoken-word poetry, musical performances, proclamations from the mayors of Cedar Rapids and Marion and a plethora of informational booths.

Events range from live entertainment to films and discussions

A state board on Thursday awarded a combined $1.3 million toward two CEdar Rapids projects: one that will revitalize Cedar Lake through the grassroots ConnectCR initiative and the other that will renovate the African American Museum of Iowa.

Cedar Lake revitalization as part of ConnectCR and the African American Museum of Iowa’s renovation project are among 34 seeking Community Attraction and Tourism grant funding.

Large traveling exhibits and smaller pop-ups help take Black history, culture across Iowa and beyond

“I feel good knowing that so many people love me,” said Freda Long, whose historic Black-owned business needs exterior wall repairs. A GoFundMe seeks to raise money to help pay to fix the beloved community space in the Oakhill Jackson neighborhood.

For the first time since 2003, the only African American Museum in Iowa will get a major facelift as it pivots for a stronger statewide presence.

The raising of the Juneteenth flag -- the first to be flown under the new policy -- “should also inspire us to use our platform and our voices for actions that demand equity for all people,” said LaNisha Cassell of the African American Museum of Iowa

This February, the African American Museum of Iowa will host special programming in honor of Black History Month.

Though maps outlining “undesirable” areas were only produced by the federal government from 1935 to 1940, the effects on seven Iowa cities live on to this day.