Friday, June 20, 2008

African-American Museum of Iowa Flooded - update


According to BlackAmericaWeb.com, the African-American Museum of Iowa was flooded in Des Moines this week. Museum staff have not yet been allowed into the building.

There is a note now on the African American Historical Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa's website about the flood's impact at the museum. Director Thomas Moore thanks everyone for their prayers. He shares that the museum "has taken a tremendous hit" and that their emergency action plan is in place. He urges folks not to call or visit the museum, most events for June and July have been canceled.

June 21 Update: I was able to contact both the Executive Director Moore and the museum's curator on Friday. The museum has 25 quilts in its collection, all 20th century. The quilts survived because they were hung from ceiling rods and are now safely off site in an environmentally-favorable location. Other textiles in the collections did not escape water damage and will need to be repaired.

I hope you join me in helping the museum's clean-up efforts. There is a flood recovery donation button on the museum's website - it accepts contributions via PayPal. Peace!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Thanks for putting this on your blog. I donated this a.m.

Beth (an ex-Iowan living in Springfield, Va--hiya neighbor!)

Kyra said...

Beth,

Good Morning! Thank you for your note. I'm sure the museum will put your donation to good use.

Best, Kyra