Our Mission
We honor the rich, vibrant culture that blossomed from black communities in Bowling Green, Kentucky during the early 20th century. Though racism and violence loomed in this area, these men and women did not cower. They lived bright, fulfilling lives and built thriving communities, businesses and schools.
We have made it our mission to recover, document, preserve, and present the history of these African Americans to ensure that their history is never forgotten.
Our story
The wind beneath the wings of the African American Museum-Bowling Green Area Inc. was The New Era Planning Association, Inc. This organization was founded in 2001 to preserve and document the African American history in the Bowling Green and Warren County area. For more than a decade, members of the Association carefully collected pictures and other historical artifacts about the Bowling Green area’s history and culture.
The first meeting of what would become the AAM Steering Committee was held on April 12, 2011 at the proposed site for the Museum, 301 State Street. The Museum’s first site was located in the historic Shake Rag district. This block contained the State Street Missionary Baptist Church, the oldest African American congregation in Bowling Green (1838). In September 2011, the Bowling Green City Commission provided seed funding for an African American Museum in Bowling Green.
In 2012, WROTE, INC.(a local non-profit community foundation) assisted the Museum to organize itself as an independent 501 (C) (3) tax exempt charitable organization. The Museum is also registered with Commonwealth of Kentucky as a non-profit organization.
As more documents were accumulated and exhibits grew, the board of directors sought another site. In July 2014, the board signed a long-term lease with Western Kentucky University to use its property located at 1783 Chestnut Street known as the Erskine House. Although on the WKU campus, the site is three blocks from the historic African American Jonesville community. This property has three buildings and a modest parking lot. Since then, the Museum has provided tours of its exhibits without direct admission charge and conducted its own educational programs with various community organizations.