Share Your Voice: Multicultural Session

The Wisconsin Historical Society hosted an event called “Share Your Voice!” that took place inside of the Wisconsin Black Historical Society Museum as the staff give forms out to the audience in hopes of receiving their feedback on a possible new historical museum in Wisconsin. A few audience members agreed and disagreed on the new building, but the form had green and red check boxes next to each design to represent if a person likes or dislikes the idea.

The eight design ideas the audience had to check off:  Introduction and Orientation Media Experience, Agricultural ingenuity, Industrial Innovation, Sculptural Display Featuring Objects from all 72 countries, Natural resources, Supper Club Dining Experience with Embedded interactives, Laboratory of Democracy, and Celebrating Community Introductory Theaters.

There were a few people in the audience that were glued to the power point of the staff’s presentation of the design ideas. Christian Overland is the Ruth and Hartley Barker director of the Wisconsin Historical Society. Overland explains the purpose behind the event and why it is importance. He also evaluates the memories of the audience in regard to hopefully creating more of them in the new museum.

“The purpose of an event here at the Wisconsin Black Historical Society was to actually learn stories. We’re building a new state museum, so were in Milwaukee this week talking to different communities about what stories they want to be told and what stories they want to hear,” Overland said.

Overland explains the reasonings behind wanting to have people share their stories of history as it is essential to the staff of the new museum to execute the communities’ vision in making a multicultural museum that shows all sides of perceptions and identifications within Wisconsin. Overland takes those stories seriously as he has a story of his own when he was little at a museum.

“My favorite memory is when I was growing up visiting Museum Science and Industry in Chicago and there was a submarine on the outside. I got to get inside the submarine and heard from a sailor that was in the navy during World War II that use to hunt the other boats. I got to hear that story first person,” Overland said.

A woman in the audience expressed concern about the new museum as she believed it would be harmful to the historical stories that took place primarily in Milwaukee. Diversity coordinator Tanika Apaloo listened and gently informed the woman on their intentions on building the new museum.

“This is a focus group for the African-American community to ask their input on what is significant about the Milwaukee community and the Wisconsin community overall with regards to African-American History,” Apaloo said.

Apaloo continues to reiterate their intentions on making the museum as she provides her own expectations of the museum to help multicultural communities in Wisconsin to get the proper history they deserve to fulfill unity in each racial group. Apoloo expresses the diversity that Wisconsin lacks in hopes of the new museum to fix it.

“I look forward to the museum actually being a cultural center. History and culture I believe goes hand-and-hand creating a living institution not one that talks only about the past, but modern days issues as well and what to do about it,” Apaloo said.

The event concluded with the audience feedback and expectations as they turn in their forms, then heading out the building. The event had refreshments and sticky notes waiting for people to come in and explore the ideas of a new museum. Founding Director Clayborn Benson spoke a little regarding the different items that would be displayed in the museum in the Future.

The Wisconsin Black Historical Society was established in 1987 after its former director Clayborn Benson released a three-part documentary called “Black Communities” located on North 27^th and West center street in the city of Milwaukee. It the only museum that primarily preserves African American history in state of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Black Historical Society purpose is to include the black community into cultural activities such as educational movies and financial workshops on investments and credit information.