An Emotional Journey at America's Black Holocaust Museum

America's Black Holocaust Museum (ABHM) has officially reopened to the public, along with several new exhibits, returning a true icon to Milwaukee's Bronzeville neighborhood, the historic economic and social center of the city's African American community.

The new facility, located at the corner of Vel R. Phillips and North Avenue, boasts new galleries that take visitors on an emotional journey through the more than 400-year history of Black people in America, beginning with pre-captivity and concluding in present day. The museum fosters and promotes education, critical conversation, reconciliation and healing from the wounds caused by centuries of atrocities forced upon America's Black population.

"America's Black Holocaust is a vital institution led by great people," said Peggy Williams-Smith, President & CEO, Visit Milwaukee. "This museum will draw visitors from around the world who want to learn more about the Black experience in America, and Milwaukeeans, too, will benefit from this education. I know what they'll do with this new space will have a profound impact on not just Milwaukee, but America, too, for many years to come."

The development of the new ABHM has already created a ripple effect in the Bronzeville neighborhood.

"We have been this anchor for the reemergence," said Dr. Robert "Bert" Davis, President and CEO, ABHM. "We will partner with all of our other partners in Bronzeville. The Medical College of Wisconsin is moving across the street. The Greater Milwaukee Foundation is moving across the street. The Bronzeville Center for the Arts is moving literally next door, whose neighbor is the Milwaukee Urban League. So, there are countless economic development plans and cultural plans."

Davis explained that ABHM will be partners with likeminded organizations and people who want to uplift the community.

"I think that's really going to be the strength of the museum," he said.

The successes of America's Black Holocaust Museum and Bronzeville as a whole have also been recognized on The New York Times' list of "52 Places for a Changed World" in 2022.

Learn more at America's Black Holocaust Museum.

Written by Sarah Suydam, Managing Editor of Groups Today.

Photo courtesy of America's Black Holocaust Museum.