viewpoint | editorials | Reginald F. Lewis Museum

The Reginald Lewis Museum
Of Maryland African-American History and Culture
An Invaluable Learning Experience
Marlène Rigaud Apollon
as published in the Dec 2005-Jan 2006 bulletin of dchaitiancatholics.org

January 2006__From the day I found out about the plan to build the Reginald Lewis Museum of African-American History and Culture in the vicinity of Baltimore Inner Harbor, more than a year ago, I promised myself that I would visit it. Although I left Baltimore shortly after its opening in June 2005, I seized the opportunity to fulfill my pledge and satisfy my curiosity when my husband and I went back last October for the wedding of a friend.

What I found in this four-level red, black and yellow edifice located in the corner of Pratt and President streets was an impressive chronicle of the history and culture, told in words, images, videos and interactive exhibits, of Maryland African-Americans and of their contributions to the building and enrichment of Maryland and of the United States.

On the first floor, a quote by Benjamin Banneker, the “First African-American scientist” who died in 1806, caught my eyes: “The color of the skin is in no way connected to the strength of the mind or intellectual powers,” it said. I was struck by its similarity to the famous words of Toussaint Louverture, “Is the color of my skin an impediment to my bravery and to my honor?” To my sadness, however, and it may have been an overlook on my part because I was trying to absorb as much as possible in the short time we had before the museum closed, a small picture of Toussaint and a short paragraph on him were the only references to Haiti’s historic revolution that I noticed. I could not help wondering whether this was just an oversight on the part of the planners or whether the constant images of our constant failures had so overshadowed our proud past that they were not even aware that, as Frederick Douglas said in a lecture in 1893, Haiti was “the original pioneer emancipator of the nineteenth century” and that she had had “her mission in the world, and a mission which the world had much need to learn. She has taught the world the danger of slavery and the value of liberty. In this respect she has been the greatest of all our modern teachers.” It is something that can certainly be remediated.

Putting my disappointment aside, my overall reaction, as a Haitian-American, was one of admiration for the immense accomplishments of our African-American brothers and sisters, not only in Maryland but also in other states and for their determination to endure and prevail, in spite of the horrors of slavery, segregation, laws denying them an education, racial discrimination of all sorts, tortures and lynchings, to achieve their goal of making “Freedom ring.”

Starting with the traveling exhibit of the Henrietta Marie, a slave ship that sank in the waters of Key West in 1700 and was discovered in 1973, visitors can follow that long and courageous struggle of African-Americans to defy all odds and not only survive but also be highly productive in fields as varied as Agriculture, Art, Education, Fishing, Law, the Military, Medicine, Music, Religion, and Shipbuilding. In the process, they learn about or are reminded of famous Marylanders such as Benjamin Banneker, the “First African-American scientist,” Harriet Tubman, the “Moses of her people,” Frederick Douglas, the great orator and leader of the abolitionist movement who became consul general to Haiti in 1889, Thurgood Marshall, the renown civil rights lawyer and first African-American Supreme Court Justice and Elizabeth Lange, the woman of Haitian heritage who founded the first Catholic congregation of religious women of African descent in 1829 and is now a candidate for canonization.

According to their brochure, one of the goals of the museum leaders was to make it “a place to remember struggles, celebrate accomplishments, and serve as a beacon of pride, hope, and inspiration for all people.” It certainly can be an inspiration for us Haitians and Haitian-Americans, especially those among us who may not be sufficiently aware of the extraordinary accomplishments of African-Americans and it can provide an invaluable learning experience for our children who were born or grew up in the United States.

The Reginald Lewis Museum is located at 830 East Pratt Street in Baltimore. It is open Tuesday-Sunday from 10 am to 5 pm and closed on Mondays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day and Easter Sunday. You can find information on admission and group tours by calling 443 263-1800 or visiting its Website at: www.AfricanAmericanCulture.org.

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