The Warren County Black History Museum Board currently negotiating with McMinnville’s Board of Aldermen for expansion through a cultural center space.
Black History Museum Director Mickey Gwyn said the development is part of a 10-year plan. He said the board always intended to acquire more space and Warren County’s burgeoning multiculturalism calls for a place to share those cultures.
“I just don’t think there’s been a big effort to try to bring all those different demographics together in one location with one understanding that we want to learn our differences, we want to learn what’s similar about us, and be really a melting pot of a population,” Gwyn said.
Gwyn said the Black History Museum had presented their plans to the McMinnville Board of Aldermen in July and will follow up again in the city meeting on August 8.
He said there are state and federal grants that cover costs for the proposal. Gwyn said a state grant for museums could cover up to $100,000 and a federal grant was currently available to cover land acquisition, salaries, and wages.
“That very first step that we’re hoping to take with grant monies is to go out and contract with professionals,” Gwyn said. “You know they’re versed in museum management, they’re versed in capital campaigns to go out and raise funds.”
Gwyn said this project is a bigger than just building a building or trying to establish a cultural center. He said it is a way to bridge the divide in our country right now.
“And why can’t we be that showplace for America to say, look, we have a very diverse county,” Gwyn said. “And look how we come together to show the world that we are one big planet and we can do things together.”
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