Legacy Museum marks 10 years preserving region's black history

When someone mentions African-American history, most people immediately envision Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, bus boycotts and marches through the tumultuous South.

But for 10 years, the Legacy Museum of African-American History in Lynchburg has worked to preserve the stories of the black community within Central Virginia.

“This is what makes it so special. It’s about us,” said Willie Thornhill, co-chairman of the collection committee with the museum.

A new exhibit marking the anniversary, “Celebrating Community! The Legacy Museum’s First Ten Years,” opens Sunday and features elements of the museum’s nine previous exhibits.

“It’s a chance to give a present to the community,” said Carolyn Bell, co-chairwoman of the collections committee.

The staff members at the museum hope this exhibit will reconnect members of the black community with their past, particularly the youth.

“A number of people feel it’s important for their children to know the story of their parents and grandparents,” said Carla Heath, publicity chairwoman for the museum.

Since June 2000, the Legacy Museum has collected artifacts, photographs and oral accounts that make up the rich history of Lynchburg’s black community.

“It has brought out regular community people with things from the trunk,” said Thornhill.

That includes trinkets from Dunbar High School, 1940s barbershop equipment and military uniforms.

Some of the artifacts are more challenging, such as the infamous robes of the Ku Klux Klan from one of the previous exhibits, “Deep in my Heart: The Rise of Jim Crow in Central Virginia, 1865-1954.”

Thornhill recalls her experience with the Klan as a child at her grandfather’s South Carolina home.

“It was frightening to see all of those hoods and robes,” she said.

Heath added, “For those of us who didn’t have this experience, these were the things of novels, history books, not lived experiences.”

Youth volunteers, such as E.C. Glass High School student Rainard Gaines, were an active part of piecing the new exhibit together through conversations with contributors to the museum.

Gaines described his interview with the prominent African-American military serviceman Robert Cardwell, whose uniform will be displayed, as “interesting, like watching a movie.”

However, Gaines expects local black youth will be reluctant to visit the exhibit.

“Some people have generalizations about museums. You don’t have to spend two hours,” he said.

One feature of the new exhibit that may attract younger people is the listening stations, made possible by the Easley Foundation. These stations include excerpts from the interviews conducted by the youth volunteers with Legacy collectors and reflect the origins of the museum more than 10 years ago.

“Before the museum was a museum, it was an effort to collect stories,” said Heath.

The new exhibit was also made possible by the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and Lauranett Lee, the guest curator for the exhibit. Lee, curator of African American history at the Virginia Historical Society, described the museum as “a fantastic jewel in Central Virginia.”

Asked about the future of the Legacy Museum, Thornhill replied, “We hope it will continue for another 50 years or better.”