Meet The CEO Building a $75 Million Global Landmark for African American History

This story was originally published on Forbes.com

At a time where the racial and ethnic divide in America is becoming increasingly evident, the need for honest dialogue between people from diverse backgrounds is essential to finding a common ground.

However, despite having the most multicultural makeup ever in the United States, conversations surrounding race rarely result in a shared perspective, or produce tangible solutions due to a crippling lack of context. This derives from, in large part, a widening disconnect from the deep-rooted realities of America’s racial history. 

While schools across the country often teach a skewed narrative that recycles archived benchmarks of progress, what’s absent from textbooks are the chapters of untold stories reflecting the millions who overcame severe oppression to not only thrive, but transform the future of the United States. As a result, many African Americans are forced to develop a sense of identity, amidst a rapidly changing world, without an accurate frame of reference. More notably, they lack the ability to grasp their direct relationship to a revolutionary legacy of entrepreneurship, success and innovation. Noticing the importance of providing a platform for individuals and their families to experience these untapped storylines first hand, one CEO transitioned from a decorated marketing career to make history of his own. 

Slated to open in 2019, the International African American Museum was founded to stand as the epicenter for exploring and uncovering the pivotal role African Americans have played in designing the modern world. Visitors will learn about the role of African Americans in the establishment of Charleston, the shaping of global financial systems, as well as their contributions to the economic and cultural development of America.

Nearly 60% of African Americans can trace their roots back to Charleston, South Carolina. Between 1783 and 1808, more than 100,000 slaves we transported from various regions of West Africa, traveling through Gadsden’s Wharf and other South Carolina ports, before being sold to the 13 colonies. The International African American Museum will be erected at Gadsden’s Wharf in tribute to the millions who took their first steps on American soil at the same location.

The state-of-the-art facility will feature several interior and exterior exhibits, while offering access to genealogical resources through its Center for Family History, supporting scholarly research in African American, American, and African Diaspora history. Through its Educational Resource Center, the museum will provide a significant service to teachers and students in South Carolina and across the nation.

Before serving as CEO of the museum, Michael Boulware Moore spent over two decades as an accomplished advertising executive, spearheading marketing campaigns for global brands such as Coca-Cola and Kraft. With experience scaling and managing his own businesses, the passionate activist looks to leverage his skill set to tell impactful stories that capture the emotions of today’s multicultural generation. Yet, what best equipped Moore to take on this new venture was the remarkable story of his great-great grandfather, Robert Smalls. Smalls escaped on the C.S.S. Planter, built a life for his family, then later rose to become a South Carolina Congressman during the Reconstruction Era.

I spoke with Michael Boulware Moore about his vision behind the International African American Museum, rethinking history, and the importance of expanding our perspective of the black experience. 

It seems there would be several locations to introduce a landmark like this -- What makes Charleston the perfect place to introduce the first International African American Museum? 

Michael Boulware Moore: Dr. Henry Louis gates calls South Carolina the epicenter of the African American experience. This is the same place where the slaves took their first steps after arriving to this country. When you think about why they were coming here, and the role they’ve played in developing the thriving country which is the United States — it’s a lot like venture capital — we’re involuntarily responsible for the groundwork and seed funding that accelerated growth and greater opportunity. If you think about the space and the city, from a business and American history standpoint, it is enormously important. Charleston was the richest city in America for a hundred years, based on the profitability of the slave trade and rice. In addition to brutal labor, there were profound examples of technology and ingenuity. We showed how to create an industry and manage the flow of water with the tide.

When black history is discussed, it's often a narrative of defeat or victimization — How will this museum shift the way people view African American history and the black experience? 

Michael Boulware Moore: While there are undoubtedly stories of pain and oppression, there are also stories of perseverance and people pushing past the enormous odds.  I think back to my great-great grandfather, Robert Smalls, who was enslaved working on a dock. He won his freedom, and the freedom of his family, then leveraged that to do so many other incredible things, such as being a founder of the South Carolina Republican Party. We’re going to tell some of the hard truths about our history, while also celebrating the beauty and importance of our history. We want to leave people feeling inspired and uplifted by learning of these stories of achievement and telling the broader aspect of American history.

You spent years as a marketer helping global brands tell their story -- How has that experience equipped you for developing and managing this museum? 

Michael Boulware Moore: I spent my career in marketing developing new products and leveraging the facts of history in an emotional way that is powerful. My mission is very similar with this venture. We’re telling stories and crafting an emotional experience that will be very deep and meaningful for visitors of the museum. So much of African American history has yet to be told. My partner Joe Riley likes to say that African American history is a fresh archeological dig -- the more you brush the dirt off, the more history uncovers itself. There’s so many stories and so much of this history that has yet to be told. We want to tell the broader story — the broader American history.

How do you approach the challenge of making such a deep and complex history relatable for today’s generation of multicultural millennials? 

Michael Boulware Moore: This challenge is at the center of my thinking. I think a lot about contemporary issues. Not just the past, but a relevant piece of the present. I think it starts with adding context, and contributing to difficult conversations that have existed throughout our history, that still need to happen today. Everything is connected. So many of the issues we’re dealing with now are directly tied to the struggles and fails we’ve had in the past. We see this in the issue of violence against black men. America has always thought of itself as a moral or Christian nation. That makes me think about the mental gymnastics required to manipulate an entire nation in this way, to the point of actually making our people 3/5 human. The general conception was that enslaved Africans did not have deep thinking ability. Unlike South Africa, which tried to have a truth and reconciliation commission, we’ve never done that. We immediately brush things under the rug, so there’s always this lingering confusion and disconnect we’re all struggling with. That’s why there is a fear about black men that is perpetuated so frequently in media, television and movies. It’s important to discuss the history so we can understand why we are where we are.

Many museums across the country attempt to tell the full story of African American history — Why is it so critical to emphasize international history and expand across the diaspora? 

Michael Boulware Moore: It’s important that people understand the elements of the international slave trade. There’s a huge misconception that the people who came here were all from the same part of Africa, had the same backgrounds, and spoke the same languages. That’s absolutely not the case. We have a gallery called Atlantic connections that speaks to exactly who the people were that came to America. The slave trade reflected so many different languages, waves and cultures — all of which have been whitewashed away. In the movie Men In Black, they have the flash device that erases memory. For the vast majority of African Americans, we have no real, honest connection to our history. We understand the invaluable need to shed light on who people were, where they came from, and the triangle between West Africa, the Caribbean, London, the United States, and all other nations involved.

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