[2banana]

"This was the first African American museum to be supported by a city when it was established in the 1970s," she said. "But it is extremely difficult to raise the type of funding to run these museums - particularly now, when people are not giving as much - and African American museums have a more difficult time raising funds than mainline institutions."

Three Questions:

1. Does the city support Italian American or Irish American Museums. Why not?

2. Why don't African Americans support "their own" museum?

3. Considering that there are "white" born africans that are now Americans that are not represented by this museum, why not change the name of the museum to what it really is...

[dfwgator]

2. Why don't African Americans support "their own" museum?

Why should they support "their own" when they can get the saps taxpayers to do it for them?

[Sacajaweau]

Call Bubba...The white, black man.

[mhking]

Black conservative ping

If you want on (or off) of my black conservative ping list, please let me know via FREEPmail. (And no, you don't have to be black to be on the list!)

Extra warning: this is a high-volume ping list.

[Siouxz]

Harrison said the "cash-flow" problem amounts to about a $30,000 shortfall - two weeks' worth of payroll - which he hopes to rectify soon. It is not indicative of the museum's management or its overall fiscal stability, he said.

All things being equal (HA!)with 15 full-time and 4 part-time, this means each employee would be making close to 46K/year! Now somehow, I don't see these museum workers making that much. I wonder how much of that "payroll" is for Mr. Harrison?

[T'wit]

>> Harrison said he had worked "diligently" to find ways to make up the shortfall but could not come up with the cash.

The reason Harrison has to beg is that the museum cannot support itself with admission fees and concessions. It is simply one more socialist failure. The free market is the answer -- if they have a good museum.

There is not a word here about the obvious question whether the museum is worth visiting. And if it isn't good enough to attract visitors, why don't they just shut it down? Funneling more tax dollars into a loser is pure waste.

Harrison should be looking for one-time grants to make the museum attractive, interesting and instructional. He should have specific plans for the improvements and a specific story how the renovation would increase admission.

[manic4organic]

Well, I certainly hope only white people were laid off. What'd they do, outsource the jobs to Nigeria? < /sarcasm>

[Hillarys Gate Cult]

Charleston South Carolina is considering opening one ( if it's not in work already ).

I think these museum's biggest problem is dilution. A few large museums nationwide could probably be supported, but it seems like every city is now being extorted into to having one. There are only so many interesting exhibits to go around, and that goes for all museums.

[thegreatbeast]

My favorite, "It is not indicative of the museum's management or its overall fiscal stability, he said."

Still, mind if we have an outside audit?

[speekinout]

Why do we need "African-American" museums? We already honor the Blacks who contributed to America - like Luther, Douglas, Burbank, Parks and forgive me for forgetting the name of the WWII AF group.
If we're missing testimonials for other great Americans who happen to be Black, let's add them to the American museums.

I don't have any problem with people who want to start a museum devoted to art or relics of any specific group. If someone wants a museum for, say, the Chinese who helped build the Intercontinental railroad, let them do it. But not with public funds.

Public funds are for our shared history, not for purposes of dividing us.

[bayourod]

I know that most all of Detroit's African Americans have moved back down to Atlanta, Houston, Nashville and Montgomery, but you would think that there would be enough of them left in Detroit that they wouldn't have to build a museum to show people what they were.

[Tribune7]

ping