Introduction

The Kukutana African American History and Culture Museum has been around travelling and educating the public across the United States and abroad for almost 40 years about the rich history of African Americans!

A primary goal for establishing this unique and extraordinary African American History Museum was to use education, unknown history, and historical artifacts to help culturally disadvantaged youth, families and communities overcome feelings of alienation, systemic racism, and despair, this uplifting their self-esteem and pride of heritage. Exposure to the Museum, its artifacts and community programs ensure that youth and adult patrons learn more about their African American heritage and gain deeper insights into significant contributions to civilization by people of African descent.

Our history did not start with slavery and certainly is more than enslavement, therefore, Black Kings, Black Queens, Black Inventors, Black Military Personalities, Black Cowboys, Black Astronauts, Black Mayors, Black Gospel Singers, Black Business Owners, Black Judges, Black Attorneys, Black Aviators, Black Artists, Black Physicians, Black Bankers, Black DJs, Black Politicians, Black Pastors and Black everyday people are presented throughout this unique museum adorn in a superb artistic setting. This museum is comparable to the Smithsonian Museum.

The Museum’s mission is to stimulate an interest in the African diaspora and African American history by revealing the little-known, often neglected facts of history; use great leaders as role models to stimulate the youth curiosity; improve race relations by dispelling myths of racial inferiority and superiority amongst human beings; support and work with the government, community groups, schools, and other organizations to provide opportunities for youth to pursue careers in the museum industry or African American Studies; and promote economic development in Metro-Memphis and Shelby County.

The Kukutana African American History and Culture Museum collection encompasses the rich history of African Americans across the continents and time, from Ancient Africa, the Middle Passage, Transatlantic Trade, Slavery, the Civil War, the Jim Crow era, the Great Black Migration, through the Civil Rights Movement, Black Live Matters and today. The museum has historical artifacts dating back to the 17^th century to artifacts of the 21^st century that relate to the Millennials, Gen X and Gen Z.

Since its opening in Clarksville, Tennessee in 1985, the Museum has become a prominent museum that has travel all over the United States and numerous countries to name a few, Italy, Hawaii, Germany, Belize, Japan, China, Spain, Jamacia, etc. We have no doubt that in a few short years, we will be a nationally known permanent museum in Memphis, Tennessee. It has also evolved into a powerful compendium of wax figures which has never been displaced before.

The Kukuana African American History and Culture Museum houses in storage approximately 200 figures of people from the past wax replica of the likeness of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Coretta Scott King, James Lawson, Benjamin Lawson Hooks, Robert R. Church, Sr., Dr. Joseph E. Walker, Rosa Parks, W.C. Handy, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Mayor Willie W. Herenton, Harriet Tubman, Tupac, Biggie Small, Whitney Houston, Memphis Minnie, B. B. King, Issac Hayes, William “Bill” Lucy, State Representative Barbara Cooper, Harold Ford Sr, Joe Ford, Dr. William Herbert Brewster, Ruby Wilson, Carla Thomas, Rufus Thomas, Gangsta Boo, and the present-likeness of President Barack Obama.

Upon the acquisition of larger space at the Brooks Museum or another historic setting, a life-size slave ship replica diorama will capture visitors to place them in a real-life unforgettable experience with slave holograms walking around you. Upon completion of this diorama in the new museum space, visitors will walk into the life-size re-creation of the 19th-century slave ship adorn with ancestral slaves in a Middle Passage setting to experience a personal epitome of the barbarism of the slave trade. An experience visitors will never forget. Our history is painful, but it should never be forgotten or erased from American history. Black history is American history…