The City of Apalachicola broke ground on a new African American Museum to connect the oral histories of our past to the future.
Apalachicola held a groundbreaking for the new museum on Tuesday morning. The new museum is a way to give our community a way to connect with the past. Watch the video above to see neighbors express their support for the museum.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
The mound of dirt you see behind me is more than just a physical representation of breaking ground for a new African American museum, but the start of preserving the rich history of Apalachicola. Neighbors say that there are stories that have been passed down from generation to generation, and now it’s high time to document them.
“These stories will live on beyond me. They will live on beyond those of us who are oral storytellers,” said Willie Tolliver, Secretary of the North Florida African American Quarter.
The City of Apalachicola came together Tuesday morning to celebrate the groundbreaking of the new African American museum. Neighbors say this is the start of preserving the oral history of African Americans in the area.
“The museum will be an archive where this group of people in this town who will not write books will bring obituaries from funerals, will bring photographs, get them digitized, and archive them so that 50 years from now when they are not here, their descendants can come to this library, to this museum, library, and get access to that material,” explained Tolliver. “So it’s a way to touch the future.”
The ceremony had music, stories, prayers, and lots of community love. People who spoke at the ceremony talked about how black culture and black history is deeply rooted in Apalachicola. So having this museum is a way to celebrate those before us in the community.
“It means that we’ve done something significant, especially with the culture and the climate that we now live in,” said Valetina Webb, the Vice President of the North Florida African American Quarter. “What it means for my community is a sense of pride and a humble spirit, knowing our past, we will never repeat it, but we’ll continue to move forward and build upon it. Black history does matter.”
The museum site is also significant as it’s next to the old catholic school for African Americans. Webb says that the community at today’s event shows that they support this museum wholeheartedly.
They plan for the museum to be open in about a year from now. We’ll continue to track it and keep you updated.
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.