“Negro Building: Black Americans in Fairs & Museums” offers a profound exploration of African American cultural representation through public exhibitions and grassroots historical preservation. This compelling paperback chronicles how Black communities shaped their own narratives at world’s fairs and early museums, providing invaluable insights into the evolution of Black public history from Reconstruction to the Civil Rights era.
### Key Features
* Examines pivotal figures like W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells, and Margaret Burroughs in curating Black historical narratives
* Traces the development of Black museums in Chicago and Detroit before the Smithsonian’s NMAAHC
* Reveals the significance of Emancipation expositions in reclaiming African American history
* Originally published in 2012, with enduring relevance to modern discussions of representation
### Ideal For
* Historians and scholars studying African American cultural preservation and public history
* Educators seeking resources on Black participation in early 20th-century exhibitions
* Readers interested in the origins of major Black historical institutions before the NMAAHC’s 2016 opening
