As we walked in and bought our tickets, I was impressed with how new the facility seemed for being a non-profit organization, and by the friendliness of the staff. As we advanced up the stairs to the second floor, the entire wall of sepia-toned pictures immediately captured my attention. There were so many faces and so many stories behind those faces; I absolutely could not wait to explore the second floor.
We then passed a quilt that was encased in plastic glass. The fabric was brown with orange patterned hemming around the border. In the center of the quilt was a giant tree with many branches reaching up from the thick trunk. The entire tree was made of different quilt patches, all different colors, stitched together perfectly to form the larger picture. It was a wonderful connection of different individuals coming together to create a beautiful, and culturally rich, piece of art and the blending of stories.
Everything was colorful, clean, and upbeat. There were interactive screens that allowed users to click on and sample different types of music such as soukous or afrobeat, food such as community, adaptation, and traditions, or written tradition such as gospels and composers. Painted on the wall was a list of other movements of African people besides the Transatlantic Slave Trade including the Underground Railroad, the California Gold Rush, and urban migration in the 20th century within America. Of all the exhibits in the museum, this one was definitely my favorite because of the clear connections made between different aspects of varying African cultures and the embodiment of African culture through significant figures.
It wasn’t until we had left the museum and crossed the street for coffee that I realized the pictures that we had passed walking up the stairs were actually a mosaic forming the face of a young African girl. Needless to say, I had chills running up and down my spine. This young face represented MoAD’s purpose so simply, yet with such complexity; the mosaic represented stories, reaching deep into the past so that no one was forgotten. Essentially, the museum exists to share stories and experiences with the intention of education and piecing together a secular African culture, and celebrating their beautiful way of life.
