‘God-given mission’: Smith, Henry to create Black history museum

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ASHLAND Ashlander Bernice Henry can remember a time when she wasn’t free to go just anywhere in the community.

“I do remember the times of segregation and the places we couldn’t go and places we could go,” Henry said. “It’s something I’ve actually lived, not just studied about.”

Working with her nephew, Darrell Smith, Henry hopes to keep Black history alive and to educate people about it by creating a Black history museum in Ashland.

Smith said the building, at 901 Kilgore Drive,  has been secured, with February 2023 in mind as the opening.

“The housing authority owns the building, which was built in the early ’70s and named after Professor C.B. Nuckolls who was at Booker T. Washington school,” Smith said. “They are giving it to us for $1 a year for three years. The utilities are covered completely. We’re going to roof it and paint the gallery.”

Smith said he and Henry are collecting all the artifacts they can find and are working with Heather Lynn Photography to photograph and preserve pictures.

“I have noticed the Black history disappearing in Ashland for some time now,” he said. “The Booker T. Washington school (which closed due to desegregation in 1962) burned down in 1975, along with pictures, trophies and other memorabilia.”

He said they have found more than 20,000 stories and photos so far from about 600 supporters. They plan to use half of their portion of the building or exhibits.

The other half will be used for education. Henry will teach Black history classes for children and adults and will offer a library. Smith said they also plan to have events to attract crowds and guest speakers, and the local NAACP office will be housed in the building.

Henry, who attended Booker T. Washington school, has been vice president of the NAACP and was chairwoman of the Ashland Human Rights commission, commissioner of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights for the 7th district and was the first African-American woman to serve on the Ashland City Commissioners Board. 

The idea of the museum has been well received.

“I was so pleasantly surprised about the reception of people in the community when you ask them about it,” she said. “This makes me understand this is a God-given mission and it is needed.”

One of the projects they are planning is a Black family album in which every Black family in Ashland may have pictures. So far, Smith said 90 families will have their own, sealed section or photos.

There also will be an art gallery featuring Black artists and Smith said he’s working with local bookstore owners on projects to promote Black writers.

The two don’t expect the reach or the effects of the museum to stop at the city’s edge.

“This isn’t just a small-town museum,” Smith said. “We have aspirations of making it into something you’d see in a large city. We want it to be a true destination and we hope people will come just to see it.”

Henry said she expects the museum to be “a living organism” that will be the center of events and gatherings.

“The museum, to me, is a portal back to the past, but not just from the past,” she said. “It connects the past to our future, so it means to me everything. A bright future, an exciting adventure. It provides more unity in the community, as that saying goes.”

She said after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s time for a new start.

“Education is the only way people can get to know each other,” she said. “If I know the story about you and you know the story about me, it helps us to understand each other a lot better.”

(606) 326-2661 |

lward@dailyindependent.com

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