Looking back, moving forward

Mobile museum brings past to life for African-Americans

The name Muhammad Ali might ring a bell with even a young sports fan.

The winner of a gold medal at the 1960 Olympics, the boxer born Cassius Clay Jr. knocked out Sonny Liston in 1964 to become the heavyweight champion of the world. He always described himself as “the greatest” and bragged that in the ring, he could “float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.” He also gained notoriety when he joined the Nation of Islam in 1964 and changed his name to Muhammad Ali.

But Rodney J. Reynolds, publisher of American Legacy magazine, wanted young African-Americans to know that their heritage includes contributions across the board, from Bessie Coleman, who was the first female pilot of African-American descent and the first person of African-American descent to hold an international pilot’s license, to Isaac Murphy, an African-American who was the first jockey of any race to win three Kentucky Derbys.

“People always ask me about my favorite story in the magazine, and I always talk about African-American jockeys,” says Reynolds, who was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and attended the University of Cincinnati. “A lot of people don’t know that 10 or 11 of the first 15 Kentucky Derby winners were ridden by African-American jockeys. And Isaac Murphy was the first jockey inducted into the horse racing Hall of Fame.”

Reynolds had already published several magazines for African-American audiences, but American Legacy, founded in 1995, was created to look specifically at heritage and culture. In 2008, Reynolds expanded on that idea by converting an 18-wheeler into a mobile museum with the same mission.

The American Legacy “Know Your History” Mobile Truck Museum, which has been on tour ever since, will visit the Fort Smith Museum of History Thursday and Friday, bringing with it what Reynolds calls “inspiring” stories of individual African-Americans and groups like the Buffalo Soldiers, who fought for the Union in the Civil War and went on to distinguishedservice in the Indians Wars, the Spanish-American War and World War I, and the Tuskegee Airmen, African-American pilots who fought in World War II.

The stories are supported by artifacts ranging from a set of shackles used onslaves to Muhammad Ali’s boxing gloves, all colorfully framed by magazine covers that present an overview of African-American contributions, past and present.

“The struggles that a lot of individuals went through during the civil rights era and the doors they opened certainly have benefited African-Americans and society in general today,” Reynolds says. “Race relations have gotten better over the years, but it’s something that has to be continually worked on. What we try to do in our part of the world is to let not only the African-American community but the community at large know about our history and heritage, whether it’s through the magazine, the curriculum (we offer) or people coming on board our mobile truck.”

Like Reynolds, Tiffinee C. Baker, president of theFort Smith Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Sorority, says she wanted to sponsor the mobile museum to share that history with people who might not otherwise hear it. Chartered in 1995, the Fort Smith chapter is part of a national sorority founded in 1913 at Howard University in Washington, D.C., and is made up of college-educated women, predominantly African-Americans.

A native of Fort Smith, Baker attended Immaculate Conception Elementary School and Northside High School and says the history she learned in class was not usually the history of her people.

“Black history was not something in vogue at the time to teach,” she says.

“Thank God that’s changed.

We’re all part of the big fabric of America. Hopefully people can come to see the exhibit and be able to appreciate the history of people different from themselves and how we all fit into the history of America.”

Reynolds says it’s important to the future that the past be remembered.

“We all stand on the shoulders of a lot of people who sacrificed a lot of things. We can’t forget that.

When you look at your history, that provides you the inspiration and the fuel to want to succeed yourself.”GO & DO American Legacy Mobile Truck Museum When: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday & Friday Where: Fort Smith Museum of History, 320 Rogers Ave. in Fort Smith Admission: Free Information: (479) 783-7841

Northwest Profile, Pages 36 on 02/02/2014

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