Wanted to start out by sharing with you the partnership between the National Parks conservatives association, and the association of study of life and history began more than 28 years ago. It was then at that irena webster, and govern spencer dug, joined with the woman who would become my first boss at ncaa, i had to get right. Had the vision to join forces to support an enhanced the work that the National Parks service is doing in order to protect the African American experience. Sadly, i had to give passed away earlier this year. I want to take a moment at the start of this conversation about the preservation of the history of the struggle to achieve black Voting Rights, to remember my boss, my friend and a true pioneer in the long and ongoing process to make congress this survey shun and preservation organizations like and pca, more just, equitable, diverse and inclusive. Thank you diana. Now, for our panel today, folks are going to be aware of the history of the struggle of Voting Rights as wide ranging multi faceted is still going on. But we want to do with this panel of experts and people who are my friends, folks that i admired, is to get their insights on this issue. But maybe and more specific in direct ways, we have one person, josephson recall who actually lived through the struggle for Voting Rights and bloody loans county. We hear from josephson, our families experiences in her experiences. And what shes doing now to help preserve the history. Then we have two other friends, i get people that i admire very much, decal men robinson who are experts and have long storied careers to help preserve the African American experience, including struggle for Voting Rights. So, without any more ado, joe were gonna turn it over to you first. For your individual presentation, this will move into question and answer session, and we will begin to take questions from the audience. Thats helping to coordinate those, and feed them into discussion. Thank you all for being here, so we will go to you now. Thank you. Thank, you good afternoon. In our discussion today, im going to make three declarations were guarding preserving the history of the Voting Rights struggle. Number one, from the civil war ended it laden 65, two years later in 1867, there were 4000 blackmon registered voters in the county of alabama. In 1965 the, out of 5000 African Americans there was not a single registered voters. Number two, snake came into the county, established an independent political party. In may 1970, 2500 African Americans participated in the democratic primary. Number three, the Voting Rights struggle is preserved in miles county alabama. Aisles county alabama is 22 miles of highway 80, also known as the National Historic trail. One cannot get to montgomery from selma, or from selma from montgomery without traveling and miles county. In 1865, now the county legislators supported a proposal to enfranchise black man, believing they could control their votes. However, in march 1867, when congress extended the franchise to black man, through the reconstruct of acts it can clear that blacks intended to vote as they pleased. Despite the use of terror tactics, failed to keep american African Americans out of the battle box. By 1867, 4000 blackmon add their names to their voting polls. Not prepared for who was born a slave, near georgia. Close to the civil war, he moved to now the alabama, and in 1867, he organized the First Baptist church for African Americans. Tallahassee funds from the friedman bureau, operated a school in that. From 1870, up to 1872, he himself served as the county representative and the Alabama House representative. In 1883, College Educational association, and build the myles Borough School as a separate building. The 1870 church, and the last birth school or on the national register, and still stand today. Well with the voting hand, the African Americans of course supported the Republican Party. Because that was the party that he delivered them from our slavery. But then, democrats seized the states Party Democrats by gerrymandering the Congressional District and by expelling black legislators, that replace the Republican Party crashed. In 1901, local crust insurgency of the state constitution, provision which required odors to pay a dollar 50 cumulative poll tax. Pass the literacy test. And, provide proof of good so now remember 1900, now this had more than 5000 registered black voters. Six years later, the county had only 57. Nows county became known as because of high rate of high violence against blacks. And then came segregation. The United StatesDistrict Attorney have been told, he rather stay away from north county. Every black man, woman and child, was a potential target of racial violence. Lynching made it abundantly clear that public protest was foolishly dangerous. 1935, Settlement Administration purchased a large plantation and divided into small that same year, 1935, three blackmon were lynched seeking better ways. It was clear that nows county remain too dangerous, and that, in 1947, my father changed his status plus that of of other many blacks and last county. He was lynched for his achievements. Seven children were left fatherless after his death. All this one was 15 and i was five. I father began 39 years of huge he had a plantation a story high on highway 80. A civil rights trail any help to build a highway. And he was employed about 40 people. And he had three tractor trailer trucks. My father was shot six times with a pistol, and ones in the back with a shot. Aisles county to have efforts to cover the process so it would not appear to be a lynching. I wrote a book detailing about it, and i titled it the penalty for our success, my father was lynched in those county alabama. My family established a foundation, and my fathers memory. To keep his leggy legacy of entrepreneur going. Now we moving forward to 1960s. An operator alabama, since 1960. On march 7th, 1965, john lewis lived in implicit march which became known as the march finally rich montgomery, on march 21. The result was murdered transporting montgomery back to selma. Carmichael came to miles after louise alis death, and was joined by bob myths, and others. Slick set up an independent black political party, better known as the black panther party. As they began to white land owners evicted 75 families. To keep evict ease from leaving the county, snake erected some residents of tech city live there for more than two and one and a half years. And still today, there is nothing on the landscape to show that snake, or the community were even there. Thank you very much. Very powerful presentation, great personal history. How geno were gonna go to you next please, take it away. Thank you al, and joe i want to say thank you for sharing your story there. Its those kind of stories, as our histories that really make this relevant and real for us. To tell the stories brings forward the cultural outreach that so necessary for us to have and connect with. In fact, that is part of the mission of a National Park service to preserve and protect the natural and historical but also Cultural Values of places like limes county. Salma, and to montgomery trio. And that is actually what was the underpinning, for the commemoration that we had and for the 19th amendment this year. To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment. That granted suffrage for women. In through the constitution. We also, though, and our commemoration, wanted to keep in mind two things. That the National Service must communicate to all, that not all women achieve the right to vote. With the passage of the 19th amendment. And second, the struggle was very much the find by class, and race, and religion. Those are the things we want to make sure that we put forward in any commemorative events that we did. And so we kept this first point and mine, that not all work to get the right to vote, because of the passage of the 19th amendment. Because history is not pretty, it is not clean. It is not clear cut, when we try to tell it, the stories we must compel them at all or complexity. I want everyone to think for a moment, in your school days, when you were learning about the Suffrage Movement, think of some of the images that were used to tell the stories . You me recall some images of Elizabeth Katie stamp, and susan b anthony, looking over some papers to push forward for the suffrage rights. The silent sentinels, that were standing out in front of the white house, in lincoln park. Significant even today in protest. But they were there, petitioning against Woodrow Wilson or the women who were jailed. When you think of those images, do you see black women . Do you see black women present in those images . More often than not, you do not. Those images are reflective of how history was meant to be told. Who is in charge of the stories. The black women who are working as hard as anyone else towards suffrage, who were always there, or not being able to be represented in a full way. They were often marginalized and their stories were marginalized. But now this body knows very well after the conflicts of the last month, these stories. My favorite story is Maggie Walker, who became an example to open up these stories that we are telling and the commemoration. The intersection of race and gender is very critical to talk about what we are talking about, suffrage, that the movement for suffrage involved civil rights as well as political rights. The second point that we wanted to make sure we got across is the struggle which continued for decades after the 20th amendment was passed. I was guided by class and race and religion, as i mentioned. So the right to vote, as you mentioned, joseph fiend, was restricted for black women in particular, and black men as well, by poll taxes, literally tests, grandfather clauses, and for others outside of that, just a question of whether you are a citizen or not. These are part of the stories that the park Service Wanted to make sure that we told in our commemoration this year. We also knew that we had to use a variety of means to get those stories across. You can still go to mp asked. Gov and see the website about the 19th amendment and womens history. You will be pleasantly surprised, i am sure, with a variety of people who are represented on that page. And then, using our programming for the event itself, and then coronavirus comes in and we have to pivot, pivot, pivot. But i think that made our programming even more relevant, because we were going to a lot of the virtual platforms. So the things we were doing that might have reached a group of people right there at these individual communities were put on virtual platforms. They had a wider reach, and we can still see those events today. In particular, the one that was done by womens rights where they were having a quality day and invited descendants of those pioneering suffragists and people waiting for suffrage, including descendants of Elizabeth Katie stanton and Frederick Douglass and Maggie Walker. It is these types of programs that we were able to experiment with and still have something very effective today. And finally, we also made a point to create partnerships, reach out to other organizations. We realize we are not completely all alone, the only expert, the last word, the final, final check of what was happening. We need to work with other groups, other museums, other organizations, to bring out these stories and make sure they are told. That also involved and intergenerational approach. Tapping into the energy of the Young Professionals who had new ideas and fresh ways of reaching a larger audience. And at the same time, reached back to get those oral histories and presentations brought in to make the connection so that we are reaching a wide audience. With this years commemoration, which does not end in august, and will not end, the struggle continues, and these stories must continue. We want to bring out these stories that were always there, to put a different lens on the stories that had been told, to bring a better focus to what happened before, so we can see what happened in the past a little bit better, so that we can see better going forward. Ajena, bank you for that. And it is a great segue, almost like we planned. It we will turn it over to the debt now. Please, share with us your thoughts. Thank you so much. Joe and ajena, thank you so much for everything that you just said. When we had our preview meeting, i made sure to tell both of you that i was very thankful to be on this panel with you. Lets make a recipe that is absolutely beautiful, but to hear you speak today, ajena i have heard you several times from the Parks Service. Its like ive been out of parks for a year and a half and suddenly i cant even say what it is. But just coming from the Parks Service, i have heard you speak about Maggie Walker and its just always so exhilarating. Thank you so much for sharing your familys history to me. As a museum professional, and also a historian, the thing that gets my soul is being able to hear oral histories, but also being able to hear it from the family. I feel that that is something that is very, very unique to what we had in our field as African Americans. We really do make sure to reach out to the community, to get those stories, and thank you, thank you. I am just overwhelmed, so that was all totally off script, but thank you both, and thank you all. Thank you for having me here today had a solace conference. I feel like i am back home all the time when im here. Thank you for having us. And thank you for having me. I am Vedet Coleman Robinson and i am the director of the African American museums. Ive been here for now as of this month a year and a half. Thats why i was stumbling, because Parks Service, i used to be there. I was at the park service for 11 years as a grants Management Specialist for hbcu grants, and also the African American civil rights grants, and underrepresented communities grant. So im sure a lot of you out there, outside of this little box that i am in have, in some way, shape, or form had some connections with me through just having those conversations and now being in this position. I am always reaching back out to make sure that everyone is still doing well. The association of African American museums has been around for 42 years now. We are the organization that really preserves, protects, and interprets african and African American history and culture, not just in the United States, but also internationally. The thing that i always love to say about triple am members is when we are collecting, we do it legally. We also do it respectfully. The reason i say legally is because nobody has not knocked on any of our doors saying you stole that from us, give it back. Everything is legal. There is always a document that is being signed, and like i said to joe earlier, we really just make sure that we are in the community. The majority of our museums are formed in the community and are of the community. What does that mean . The way we are doing our collecting, collecting oral histories, all of that is in the communities in which we serve. The other thing that is really important about that is sometimes you can have abilities. We dont have those problems. Our folks come up because they see themselves in our museums. As a matter of fact, something i can share with you as an example, in memphis, there was a protest right after george floyd was murdered. There was a protest. This protest started at city hall, and it ended at the National Civil rights museum. To me, those protesters could have chosen to end their journey, but they decided to end at the National Civil rights museum. Thats happening all over the country. In washington, d. C. , protesters were congregating at the National Museum of African American history and culture, going to the smithsonian Costume Museum and costume community museum. I should also make sure to say that because that is the correct name. Its happening all over the country. To me, its heartwarming. Folks who are out doing the work, making sure that they are trying to make sure that our liberties and trying to make sure that we still have some quality that we are still reaching for after all these years see fit to come to our museums and use them as beacons of coping. Something else, just like ajena mentioned, we really make sure to work through partnerships. We know that we cant do this work alone. Nobody can do work alone. I guess you could, but the more the merrier, and the more you can get done if you are working in groups. Right . Just like this panel. I am sure yo