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November 2006

Legacy awarded prestigious grant

The Legacy Museum of African American History has received a $106,076 federal grant that promises to strengthen six Central Virginia museums of African American history and culture.
The grant, awarded by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), will establish a network that included, in addition to Legacy, the Anne Spencer House and Garden Museum in Lynchburg, the Robert Russa Moton Museum in Farmville, the Harrison Museum of African American Culture in Roanoke, the Carver-Price Museum in Appomattox, and the L. E. Coleman African- American Museum in Halifax.

During the two-year grant period, network members will take part in consultancies and workshops designed to build capacity in all six museums. Museum professionals will lead network activities at the Legacy Museum and at the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities (VFH) in Charlottesville. The VFH is serving as sub-contractor and facilitator for the grant.

Cheryl Stallings, museum administrator at Legacy will serve as director of the network and will be assisted by Christina Draper, director of the African American Heritage Program at the VFH.
Legacy’s grant was one of only eight awarded in national competition. There were 44 applications. The only other Virginia recipient was the Hampton University Museum.
The grant program was established in connection with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History Culture, to be built on the Mall in Washington, DC, during the next decade.

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