AFRICAN AMERICAN MUSEUM OF HISTORY AND CULTURE AT LORAY MILL
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Mission Statement
THE MISSION The African American Museum's mission is to provide visitors the opportunity to explore, examine, and engage African American history and culture, encouraging the visitor to seek a deeper understanding and appreciation of the contributions and achievements of African Americans at local, regional, and national levels. The museum’s primary goal is a greater understanding through education of our shared history and culture. The story of African Americans in America is an important fabric in the tapestry of the greater American experience. MISSION IMPACT We strive to be a place of educational attainment by providing information on African American history and the important presence African Americans have had in Gaston County and globally. The museum highlights African American history and culture through visual art, music, story quilts, hands-on manipulatives, technology, and historical artifacts. Our end goal is for our visitors to leave with more knowledge than when they came and share that knowledge with others. 2. Wife and husband co-founders, Dorothy “Dot” and Bobby Guthrie, both longtime Gaston County educators, were determined to showcase Black history and culture in a museum. We believed that Gaston County should have a museum that displays the contributions of African Americans to the development, history, and culture in Gaston County and beyond. After discussing their desire to have such a venue with their friend and colleague, James “Jim” Biggers (1948-2019), whose dream was similar, Dot Guthrie (I), was inspired to explore a site to fulfill the dream. Guthrie collaborated with another colleague, Eula Hoyle, to create a proto museum in the Family Life Center at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Gastonia, NC. Following the success of this project, Guthrie organized a dedicated Planning Board of diverse educators and technologists and a host of supporters, led by Anthony Gallant, CEO of Gallant State Farm Insurance in Gastonia. Their yearlong work culminated in the dream of Dot Guthrie and Jim Biggers becoming reality when, on February 16, 2019, at 10:00 am, the African American Museum of History and Culture opened to the public in historic Loray Mill in Gastonia. The grand opening ceremony brought together elected officials, community leaders, and citizens of various diverse backgrounds representing the culture of Gaston County. Guthrie is strengthened and motivated by her experience as a librarian and author, seeking the cultural resources that reflect the vibrant history of African Americans. Her notable experiences as Media Coordinator, working at the National level with the American Library Association, the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Committee, and the Black Caucus of the American Library Association, all enhanced her drive to realize her dream of starting a museum. Paramount to Guthrie is that the African American Museum of History & Culture will provide young people opportunities and resources to grow from a “fixed mindset” to a “growth mindset,” while acquiring skills necessary to become productive citizens and maximizing their talents and abilities. Likewise, adults of all ages will be able to gain knowledge about themselves, their ancestors, and others who have impacted our history and culture through the eyes of the Black experience. The variety of exhibits, the educational curriculum, and programs held in the museum have stimulated interest in and awareness of our collective history and culture among the citizens of Gaston County, surrounding counties, and even other states. We opened the museum on February 16, 2019, and despite closing on March 20, 2020, due to COVID, we had over 4,000 visitors. During the closure, we engaged our community online and served a much smaller audience. Since reopening in 2022, we've averaged 2,000 visitors annually. In February 2024 alone, we welcomed 2,392 visitors, including those from Lenoir Rhyne and Belmont Abbey Colleges. Our January collaboration with the American Library Association and the African American Museum drew over 1,000 online viewers for the Coretta Scott King Book Awards. We also partnered with Vallen Distribution and the Gaston County Missionary Baptist Association. The museum is in partnership with Gaston County Schools. Students from four low-performing schools come every week for culturally enriched and literacy-based programs spotlighting The Arts and STEM.
About This Cause
From the African American Museum of History and Culture's humble beginnings on February 16, 2019, excellence has been our rule. Located in the historic Loray Mill, the museum's first year saw over 4000 visitors, including many out-of-state tourists, who participated in tours and programs. I have used my lifetime of experience in education and worked with a board of directors to create interesting exhibits, educational programs through various technologies, and cooperative networks with other cultural institutions throughout the country. As an educator and recipient of the Coretta Scott King and Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award, my focus is the education of school-age children in the county, augmenting their social studies curricula with hands-on exhibits, digital learning, and other creative programs. In the summer of 2019, the museum partnered with Gaston County Schools and Loray Mill Lofts to offer summer enrichment to fifty children five days a week. Visitors and leaders from the Gaston community came to speak, present, and brainstorm with students. Various Middle and High School Students volunteered in the enrichment program, which gave the students volunteer and work experience. The children were exposed to leadership skills, character building, the arts, music, and conflict resolution. We understand that working with the whole child will give our children the opportunity to grow as strong, healthy citizens and great independent thinkers. Other initiatives of the museum include: • On April 13, 2020, we received an MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) to partner with Gaston County Schools to share African American History and Culture. • Students from the Gaston County Schools AS P I R E Afterschool Program came for literacy lessons once a month (pre-Pandemic). • In February 2021, 2000 visitors attended via Zoom for Black History Month. • Senior Groups from Charlotte Day Care Centers came every week (pre-Pandemic). • The museum sponsors "G RA B a Book" Reading Program, which features African American History, Culture, and Biographies. Many retired educators, business leaders, and economic advisors take the helm and read to our children. • Family reunion groups from our area and various cities in the US toured our museum and utilized our programs as activities for their affairs (pre-Pandemic). • We offer programs to colleges, universities, and schools in and out of our city, actively collaborating with Belmont Abbey College and Appalachian State University. • Students from the Gaston County Commissioners' School visit the museum as a main project. • The museum partners with the Gaston County Public Library to promote literacy based programs. • In April 2022, we hosted North Carolina's Poet Laureate, Jaki Shelton Green, to speak in Gastonia. • In June 2022, the museum hosted a Storytelling, Arts and STEM Festival at Loray Mill, which was well attended by the community. • In November 2022, we hosted a National Author's Day program for the public headlined by four local authors. Children need to see authors and hear why they write books. • In 2022, we provided an educational booth at Belmont's Juneteenth Celebration and York Chester Middle School's International Music Day. Additionally, we hosted an Educational Summer Camp for children at the museum. Our small museum has achieved national recognition for its programming and exhibitions. We have sponsored a nationwide exhibition titled "OUR VOICES: Celebrating Coretta Scott King Illustrated Books". This recognition at the national level greatly enhances our visibility and prestige. In April 2023, the museum hosted the National Tuskegee Airmen Exhibit in Gastonia, with support from GO Gaston NC. Gaston County is represented in a team of retired educators who will develop the goals, objectives, lesson plans, and activities to support state standards. All of these connections, collaborations, activities, and socializations of innovative programs and historical education will lift Gastonia to a higher level of recognition in cultural, civic, and arts programs. African American history and culture is American history and culture. History is made by the perspectives of all participants, and the African American experience in our community and our country is a part of our shared history. I am proud that we are the first in all our surrounding counties, including Mecklenburg, to have a museum of African American history. Serving our entire community, I hope that donors see the need for broad community support to ensure the success and viability of this growing museum. I am asking for donations to support our museum, our Family Literacy Project, Culture Keepers Summer Camp, Literacy-based Online Programs, Storytelling, Rhyming Programs, Family Tutoring Workshops across Gaston County, Interactive Parent-Child Learning, partnering with churches that make up The Gaston County Missionary General Baptist Association, and other Associations. With appropriate funding, the Museum could offer ongoing programs throughout the year to transform Gaston County into a more sustainable, literacy-enriched county. With such resources available, our children WILL GRADUATE! I have, and many other volunteers will continue to staff the museum's educational and other positions. Private donations will continue to support different operating costs. In the six years of operation, we have worked hard and been successful as an all-volunteer organization. Due to such success, we realize it is time to have at least two paid staff members. To continue our standards of excellence, we need your support as we build sustainability in staff development. We have sponsors and donors, but not enough. We need financial support from our local government, Foundations, and others to join with the efforts of individual citizens, churches, the Community Foundation of Gaston County, the Glenn Foundation, the Gaston County Arts Council, Firestone Mills, and other loyal supporters. This institution was founded as a cooperative agency. In the past, I have cooperated with the Gaston County Health Department, allowing the museum to serve as the site for filming for the Vaccine Readiness Program for Gaston County, with me as a spokesperson. I have participated in the Heritage and Harvest Festival in Dallas, NC, to educate the public on important aspects of our collective history in Gaston. With your support, we will be more able to expand and partner with other organizations serving the community. Thank you for considering this important request. We are proud of Gaston County. This museum is timely and is needed as we understand our past and move forward together for a successful future in Gaston.