“We want to have people understand that you know we're not kind of a fly-by-night museum. We've been here for 10 years.”
Executive Director George Bayard III says the search for a new building is ongoing but growing urgent as the collection has vastly outgrown its current space on Monroe Center in downtown Grand Rapids.
“When we first started here, we had maybe about 1,000 pieces. Now we’re up close to 10,000 pieces and artifacts that we've collected over the period of time.”
Bayard says retiring teachers or educational programs are donating works.
“We've been the catch-all for people wanting to know the history of African Americans but can't get it from the sources that they normally used to get it from. I think a lot of the classes that are being shut down or books that are being banned are directly related to African American history and we fill that void for many of the people.”
Several sites are being considered for the new location: at least 20,000 square feet, hopefully downtown, ideally with more parking.
“For us it's just a matter of finding a space that A. we can Increase our programming. B increase our storage and C allow it to be a community space that will be able to rent out for different events and things like that.”
There is currently a membership drive underway to help fund a new space. Bayard says they’ve narrowed down a few sites and negotiations are underway.
