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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 11, 2017)
Page 12 The Skanner January 11, 2017 Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Museum cont’d from pg 9 was Black, White, young, older men and woman who were there. But, there was one young woman, whose name was Eileen, and she was very important.” Elliot said that Eileen was just over 50 and she really helped museum staffers connect with the elders in the community. “It’s a hard history and sometimes people don’t want to talk about it, but she helped us to get the stories out,” said Elliot. “She was a real dynamic person.” After taking the cabins to Virginia for conser- vation work and hosting a listening session that included Eileen and Ei- leen’s grandmother, El- liott learned that Eileen died. “She was younger than the elders that she helped get the stories from. Ei- leen had so much ener- gy and spirit and was so passionate about the fact that the story was being told and correctly,” El- liott said. “She may not be here on the 24th when this museum opens and that’s heartbreaking, but I smile because her spirit will definitely be here.” It’s been a long, ardu- ous and incredible road to get to the September 24 grand opening and Elliott has helped to re- search, conceptualize and design the “Slavery and Freedom” inaugural exhibition. She also contributed to the exhibition script, consulted with expert scholars, and identified and secured collection donations including the antebellum slave cabin that will be featured in the museum, according to the museum’s website. A graduate of Howard “ it that way, wow,’ and to have them think a little differently about their approach to American history and understand- ing the African-Ameri- can experience.” Elliott has more than 20 years of experience in researching and present- ing African-American history and culture. Her personal research focus- es on African-Americans from antebellum slavery through the Jim Crow Era, with a specific con- centration on migration and community develop- ment. With a lifelong interest in Black history, Elliott’s ‘I cannot wait for people to see the museum not just as a building, but to hear people say about our history that, “I never looked at it that way, wow,” and to have them think a little differently about their approach to American history and understanding the African-American expe- rience’ University and Catholic University of Ameri- ca’s Columbus School of Law, Elliott helped pro- duce local history exhib- its in the Washington, D.C. area and produced several public history programs. Now, as the opening of the historic museum rap- idly approaches, Elliott told the NNPA Newswire what she’s most excit- ed about and how she’s handling all of the excite- ment surrounding the historic grand opening. “I really appreciate the collective effort to get the story out and let people know what they are going to see before they get here. People ask me, ‘Are you excited?’ And, truthfully, I get reflective,” said Elliott, who has served as a con- tractor and consultant to various organizations including the National Visionary Leadership Project, the Association for the Study of African American Life and His- tory, the Reginald Lewis Museum of Maryland African American His- tory and the Humanities Council of Washington, D.C. “I think about fami- ly, relatives, ancestors, those I knew personally and those before them,” Elliott said. “I think about my church family and my community and I get so full, because I can- not wait for people to see the museum not just as a building, but to hear peo- ple say about our history that, ‘I never looked at extensive research re- vealed that her own fami- ly is connected to Booker T. Washington, one of the foremost African-Amer- ican leaders of the late 19th and early 20th cen- turies who founded the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute that became Tuskegee Uni- versity. “I was really passionate about the research I was doing on my family and then I realized that this was even bigger,” said Elliott. “I started to see this amazing picture of African-American lega- cy and I found all of these primary resources and that really illuminated it for me and I thought it was as if someone took our history, tore it up into little pieces, and blew it into the wind.” Elliott continued: “You had to go and track it down and put these piec- es back together and see what the picture really was.” When first invited to apply to work for the new museum, Elliott ini- tially scoffed at the idea. “I was so deep into do- ing my own research and, in my background,” she said, noting that her paths could have taken her elsewhere as she holds a law degree and she’s already passed the Maryland Bar. “[The museum] just didn’t cross my mind. So, when a friend of mine asked me to apply, I was like, ‘No,’ but then she convinced me after about a week,” Elliott said.
