The Role of Museums in the Landscape of Minority Representation is a multi-year research initiative funded by the National Science Foundation (Award #). Led by Drs. LaToya Eaves, Perry Carter, Amy Potter, Candace Forbes-Bright, and Matthew Cook, the project investigates how African American history and culture are presented and interpreted at African American History Museums (AAHMs) across the United States.

While geographers and social scientists have long studied sites of memory, heritage, and tourism, museums remain comparatively understudied—particularly smaller AAHMs that often operate at the margins of the museum industry. Our work seeks to address this gap by conducting fieldwork in multiple regions of the country, analyzing how museums’ histories, ownership structures, and management philosophies shape the ways they document, preserve, and interpret Black culture and history.

Through site visits, archival work, and collaboration with museum staff, we are building a comprehensive picture of the role AAHMs play within their local communities, their cities and regions, and the broader national museum landscape. We are particularly interested in how these institutions navigate difficult histories and current events while fulfilling their missions of education, preservation, and public engagement.

As part of our commitment to reciprocity, we share findings directly with participating museums, providing visitor feedback and working together to develop public engagement projects tailored to each site. In this way, the research not only contributes to academic debates but also offers practical benefits to the institutions themselves.

This project is affiliated with Tourism RESET, an interdisciplinary initiative dedicated to advancing social responsibility in the interpretation of African American heritage in tourism.

Although the NSF grant formally concludes in June 2026, our team’s work will continue through publications, public engagement, and ongoing collaborations with museums and communities.