Museum values black history
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Dennis Mikulich Mesa Legend |
| Cotton exhibit on display at the Carver
Museum. |
Jamar Younger
Mesa Legend
Between 1926 and 1954, George Washington Carver High School was
the only institution in Phoenix where young African-Americans could
get a quality education. Now, as a museum, it is one of the few
places in the city where visitors can learn about Arizona’s
African-American history.
The George Washington Carver Museum and Cultural Center is filled
with exhibits and artifacts that take visitors back to the time
when African-Americans were commonly referred to as “colored,” and
segregation was a way of life.
They are constant reminder of when African-Americans had to sit
in the balcony when they wanted to see a movie and could not sit
at the lunch counter when they wanted to have a meal.
According to Tommie L. Williams, African-American youth were not
too bothered by the restrictions. “We understood when we
went to town that some places you couldn’t go to,” he
said. Williams said that as a result, they automatically went to
places where they were allowed.
Williams was raised in Phoenix and attended Carver High School
between 1939 and 1943. In 1943, he moved to California to work
in the shipyards before eventually joining the Army.
Now, Williams is a volunteer at the museum and curator of the religious
roots exhibit. This exhibit includes photos and memorabilia from
the earliest known African-American churches in Phoenix.
Williams also serves as a tour guide and escorts visitors through
the many other exhibits at the museum.
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Dennis Mikulich Mesa Legend
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One of those exhibits includes a display of Arizona’s old
cotton industry. This industry was responsible for bringing many
African-Americans to the valley in large numbers. The exhibit includes
pictures of cotton camps, a cotton gin and a sign that showed the
many uses for cotton, as well as flyers requesting cotton pickers.
Some of the other exhibits include a display titled “The
Carver School Experience,” which has, among other things,
photos of former students and faculty; a military room that honors
prominent African-Americans in the military, such as the Buffalo
soldiers and the Tuskegee Airmen; and a sculpture garden that pays
tribute to the four girls killed in the bombing of the Sixteenth
Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala.
Carver High School began as Phoenix Union Colored High School in
1926. Before students attended PUCH, they attended classes in the
basement of Phoenix Union High School, which was called the “Department
of Colored Students.” The school changed its name to George
Washington Carver High School in 1943. It was named after the famous
African-American scientist.
Eleven years later, the school was closed.
Williams remembers Carver having a close-knit, family type atmosphere
where the teachers and parents went to church together. “Some
of the teachers knew my mother and my father,” said Williams.
He said this allowed the teachers to have a no-nonsense approach,
because they knew the parents would back them up.
According to Williams, one of the things that made Carver High
special was how concerned the teachers were about giving the students
a quality education. “The teachers they had gathered here
really understood how important an education was going to be to
each of the students,” said Williams
Years later, the alumni realized how important their school was.
In 1994, the Alumni from the school purchased the building for
$200,000 from the Phoenix Union High School District. The building
had been used as a warehouse since its closure in 1954.
Soon after the alumni purchased the building, they received grants
and donations from local organizations to begin renovations.
Ten years later, museum officials still have a vision for expanding
the facility.
Princess Crump, who is the executive director of the museum, said
she hopes for the center to become “the hub” of cultural
activity for the African-American community in Phoenix. “We
want to educate people on the contributions made by our people,” said
Crump. She envisions the museum and cultural center becoming a
venue where cultural activities happen all year. There are also
plans for an art gallery. In addition, there are still five acres
that need to be developed.
Crump said she already sees some advantages of the museum. “You
have people who grew up in the community telling the story,” she
said.
Williams just wants people to understand how much he and his peers
had to overcome to make contributions to the society. “In
spite of many things, many people persevered.”
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