Culture Keepers-Florida
Oral History of the African American Museum Experience
by
Book Details
About the Book
Culture Keepers are a part of the past and the future. The terminology of culture that I am going to pull from is the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon man’s capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations. Keepers: one that keeps, custodian or curator. If you are a culture keeper then you will understand what it is like to collect for history’s sake. It is an innate drive to cultivate, preserve and educate. As a collector of African Americana my desire is to see that all collectors understand that the need to collect is great. However, it is only great when the collection is properly preserved, displayed and stored in a museum setting. Without the proper preservation history is lost. Collecting permitted me the opportunity to fi ll a void, to display the rich culture of Black people in America, and the contributions that are so easily distorted or forgotten. Deborah Johnson-Simon provides an intellectual dialogue that will encourage, promote and inspire African Americans to preserve their rich history and to be supportive of displays in museums that promote the contributions we as a people have made to America and its history.
About the Author
Adjunct professor at Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, Florida , Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences.
B. A. Anthropology/Sociology,
M. A. Anthropology/Museum Studies,
Deborah has worked for over ten years in museums and with cultural heritage projects in