Baltimore's Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History & Culture is planning a weeklong celebration of its fifth anniversary June 20-27.
The events, announced at an afternoon news conference attended by Gov. Martin O'Malley and Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, include two days of family activities, theatrical performances, an oral history workshop and a day of free admission June 25. All events will be held at the museum, at Pratt and President streets.
"We want to introduce all of what this museum has to offer to our visitors," said David T. Terry, the museum's executive director. The building and its contents, he said, are a tribute to the "history and culture of Maryland's African-American experience."
As part of the anniversary celebration, the museum's long-planned "Red Wall of Freedom" will be unveiled. The wall, visible near the entrance, will display the names of 1,500 major donors to the museum, named in honor of Baltimore businessman and philanthropist Reginald F. Lewis.
O'Malley praised the museum for its role in preserving and showcasing black history in Maryland. "We are blessed with riches of African-American artifacts in our state," he said.
The governor also challenged museum friends and visitors to help it prosper even in lean economic times. "We need to make sure that our history does not become a casualty of the recession," he said.
Rawlings-Blake called the museum "one of the best resources we have. … It feels like it has always been a part of city life."
The museum has attracted about 200,000 visitors since its opening in June 2005. At the time, officials said they were hoping for about 150,000 per year. But Terry, who took over in 2006, said the recession forced them to lower their expectations.
"At our opening in 2005, we didn't know about 2008 and 2009," he said, referring to the economic downturn that has made life difficult for museums and other cultural institutions across the country.
The museum receives about half its annual $4 million operating budget from the state, Terry said.