International African American Museum Receives $248,000 Boeing Grant

CHARLESTON, S.C.–The International African American Museum is pleased to announce a $248,000 grant from Boeing to the IAAM project. This grant supports programmatic development for the Museum project that will allow it to work cooperatively with several educational and cultural organizations in the Lowcountry in producing exhibitions and educational programs for the public.

Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said, “The Boeing grant is a wonderful contribution to this nationally significant project. Their support will allow the museum to continue its work toward developing content materials that will eventually be in the museum. We are so appreciative of everything Boeing has contributed to our community in their relatively short time here, and this grant is just another example of how Boeing is making a difference in Charleston.”

Dr. John Fleming, who serves as the IAAM’s part-time director, indicated that the museum would work with educational institutions to produce quality exhibitions and begin to place educational materials on its website for public school children and teachers. Dr. Fleming said that he is pleased that Boeing selected the IAAM project as one it would support in 2012.

The International African American Museum aims to be a popular, sustaining institution where residents and visitors alike can learn about the role of African Americans in the making of the modern world, through the experiences of South Carolinians. The museum will be dedicated to telling the story of the black experience from an international perspective. African culture has survived to a greater extent in the Lowcountry than any other place in North America. Using the interpretive lens of the Lowcountry, IAAM will interpret how African and African American cultures were central to the development of the nation.