At the Department of Arkansas Heritage, we join our agency, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, in celebrating the accomplishments of the African Americans who've helped make this state and our nation great.
Black History Month is a wonderful time to stop by to take a tour and experience the permanent exhibit that chronicles Little Rock's historic Ninth Street, once the epicenter of the capital city's black business community. A trip to the museum will reveal many other historical treasures, including the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame exhibit on the third floor.
During Black History Month is another observance, just a day, but an important day for the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, the other Department of Arkansas Heritage museums, and all museums around the state and nation: Museums Advocacy Day.
On Museums Advocacy Day, February 23, museum leaders, patrons and advocates from around the country will meet in our nation's capital to remind legislators of the value of museums. The American Alliance of Museums leads the charge and also provides policy briefings to our country's lawmakers.
It may be difficult for some to quantify the impact of museums on our society. Many people don't know that there are approximately 850 million visits each year to American museums, more than the attendance for all major league sporting events and theme parks combined.
According to a U.S. Cultural and Heritage Tourism Study, Arkansas' heritage tourism industry employs nearly 27,000 people and generates $927 million in personal income for Arkansans. Thirty Arkansas museums and other heritage sites reported to the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism an estimated 1.2 million visitors in 2014, the latest data available.
Arkansas boasts hundreds of museums with varied missions ranging from local history to science to internationally acclaimed art and everything in between.
To that end, from April through June, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center will host the renowned Kinsey Collection.
This collection includes authentic and rare art, original artifacts, books and documents that tell a more complete story of the black experience in America. The exhibit has received national acclaim and has been featured at the DuSable Museum of African American History, the American Pavilion of Epcot Center at Walt Disney World and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
Bernard and Shirley Kinsey amassed this stellar collection as a way to celebrate black history year-round. Their dedication to preserving the past and sharing it with as many people as possible perfectly reflects the importance of museums to our society.
I'm proud to welcome the Kinseys and their exhibit to our state for the first time, and I invite every Arkansan to see this important collection. Further, I encourage you to support your local museum by visiting, becoming a member or volunteering. The story of our communities, of our state, and nation is rich. A tremendous way to experience that story is at a museum.
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Stacy Hurst is director of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.
Editorial on 02/22/2016