RALEIGH – The African American Heritage Commission (AAHC) has plans to promote heritage awareness, enhance economic development and support heritage education. In a news conference on Feb. 22 at 11:30 a.m. in the legislative press room, the commission will present study results and action goals.
Launched in 2009, the AAHC has been creating new partnerships and supporting programs to “assist the Secretary of Cultural Resources in the preservation, interpretation, and promotion of African American history, arts, and culture” as was legislatively mandated with its creation in 2008.
“The commission will focus on four priority goals of sustainability, partnerships, recognition and awareness,” explains newly-installed AAHC Chair Freddie Parker.
N.C. Department of Cultural Resources Secretary Linda A. Carlisle, Rep. Larry Womble, Sen. Floyd McKissick and Parker will speak to the value of heritage education, workforce development, cultural tourism and cross-cultural collaborations. Acting AAHC Director Michelle Lanier will review the results of the commission’s information-gathering process that visited six communities, listening to more than 200 citizens. Analysis of this research was the basis for development of the AAHC’s vision, mission and priority goals.
Educators, performers, scholars, genealogists, artists and other heritage practitioners can benefit from the commission’s work. Among needs identified by citizens in Asheville, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Spring Lake, New Bern and at the N.C. State Fair in Raleigh were for a more inclusive curriculum in public schools, job creation and partnerships. Already the commission has implemented some of these ideas through funding publications, internship positions and teacher education.
Through non-recurring funding from the General Assembly, the AAHC provided support staff for the African American Cultural Celebration at the N.C. Museum of History that was attended by 7,500 citizens. It provides funding or staff support for other programs including the Historic Halifax Maritime Underground Trail and the Gullah-Geechee Corridor, both also supported by the National Park Service. It supports the African American Music Trail. This summer’s 2011 Teachers Institute and the May Civil War 150 Symposium, both programs of the N.C. Office of Archives and History, also are being supported by the commission. The publication of “A Day of Blood: The 1898 Wilmington Race Riot” and the reprinting of “A History of African Americans in North Carolina” are also among projects receiving funding from the African American Heritage Commission. With additional funding the work of the commission will continue.
For additional information, call (919) 807-7389. The African American Heritage Commission is affiliated with the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources, the state agency with the mission to enrich lives and communities, and the vision to harness the state’s cultural resources to build North Carolina’s social, cultural and economic future. Information on Cultural Resources is available 24/7 at www.ncculture.com.