The history and institutional development of African-American museums

A range of research libraries, archives, historical societies, and black museums share as a common purpose the collection and preservation of material on the history and cultural heritage of African-Americans. As a group, the organizational development of black museums has been constrained by the lack of appropriate finances and resources. This has affected their patterns growth and development. This thesis examines the history and institutional development of African-American museums. In addition to selected research, two case histories of comparable, but differently-organized museums will be analyzed. The Afro-American Historical and Cultural Museum of Philadelphia is municipally-established; the Du Sable Museum of African American History in Chicago was organized by a private group of individuals. The thesis concludes with an analysis of institutional mission, types of collections, fundraising methods, professionalism of management staff, range of public programs and prospects for organizational advancement.