Michigan Street African American Heritage Corridor Commission Inc

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE, COMMUNITY PROJECT FUNDING, AND MISCELLANEOUS GRANTS

THE MICHIGAN STREET AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE CORRIDOR COMMISSION WILL INCREASE STAFF CAPACITY AND ACCESS TO COLLECTIONS FOR FIVE HISTORIC LOCATIONS: THE MICHIGAN STREET BAPTIST CHURCH, NASH HOUSE MUSEUM, HISTORIC COLORED MUSICIANS CLUB AND JAZZ MUSEUM, WUFO 1080 AM BLACK RADIO HISTORY COLLECTIVE, AND MICHIGAN STREET AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE CORRIDOR. FOR THE PROJECT, THE ORGANIZATION WILL HIRE A NEW FULL-TIME MUSEUM COLLECTIONS AND INTERPRETIVE ASSISTANT TO IMPROVE COLLECTIONS CARE AND ACCESS. THE MUSEUM COLLECTIONS AND INTERPRETIVE ASSISTANT WILL ALSO DEVELOP AND COORDINATE EXHIBITION CONTENT AND PROGRAMMING. BENEFICIARIES OF THE PROJECT WILL INCLUDE LOCAL RESIDENTS, STUDENTS, AND RESEARCHERS OF ABOLITIONIST AND AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORIES OF BUFFALO.

THE MICHIGAN STREET AFRICAN AMERICAN HERITAGE CORRIDOR COMMISSION WILL BUILD THE CAPACITY OF FIVE AFRICAN AMERICAN ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS IN BUFFALO, NEW YORK, TO DEVELOP AND EXPAND PUBLIC PROGRAMS AND EXHIBITIONS BY CREATING A VISITOR EXPERIENCE PLAN. REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE MICHIGAN STREET BAPTIST CHURCH, THE NASH HOUSE MUSEUM, THE HISTORIC COLORED MUSICIANS CLUB AND MUSEUM, AND WUFO 1080 AM BLACK RADIO HISTORY COLLECTIVE WILL COLLABORATE WITH VISITOR EXPERIENCE CONSULTANTS TO PRODUCE THE PLAN. THESE ANCHOR INSTITUTIONS PRESERVE STORIES, COLLECTIONS, AND STRUCTURES ON THEMES RANGING FROM THE BUFFALO ANTI-SLAVERY MOVEMENT, AND THE NIAGARA MOVEMENT, TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, AND THE JAZZ AGE. THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE PLAN WILL SHAPE FUTURE INTERPRETATION, EXHIBITIONS AND PUBLIC WAYFINDING IN THE CORRIDOR THROUGH A COHESIVE NARRATIVE THAT TELLS THE STORY OF THE ENTIRE MICHIGAN STREET CORRIDOR.