The jack hadley black history museum will develop an oral history project featuring the museum founder, MR

The Jack Hadley Black History Museum will develop an oral history project and new exhibition focused on its founder with $188,477 in funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services' (IMLS) Museum Grants for African American History and Culture program (CFDA 45.309). Staff will work with consultants to conduct community workshops on oral history collection and create standards-aligned educational materials from transcribed interviews with museum elder James "Jack" Hadley. The goal is to highlight the importance of preserving elders' perspectives on historical events and the museum's founding. The three-year project grant period runs from July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026.

James "jack" hadley. Working with an oral history consultant, the museum staff will develop community workshops to encourage participants to engage in dialogue about difficult issues and the importance of collecting oral history. Staff and volunteers will work on transcribing, cataloging, preserving, archiving, and making the oral history study accessible. Local educators who seek standards-based curricula for their classes will access content created by the project. With the assistance of an exhibitions consultant a plan will be developed for a new exhibit about the founding of the museum. The goal is to highlight the importance of collecting stories from elders and the value of understanding historical events from the perspective of elders.