Display at GR Public Museum celebrates Black inventions

Kyle Mitchell
·2 min read

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — It is the first day of Black History Month and the Grand Rapids Public Museum will have exhibits and events throughout February.

“Innovators: Celebrating Black History” is a special event Saturday that will highlight the contributions of African Americans in Grand Rapids and around the world.

The items will be on display throughout the museum and will include a variety ranging from an eggbeater to a Super Soaker.

LIST: Black History Month events in West Michigan 2024

“This is a new program for us. This will be year one but I’m really excited about getting it launched and then having a good successful program and we’re looking at doing this on an annual basis,” said Rob Schuitema, the director of public programs at the museum.

Mari Beth Johnson-Jelks, the vice president of human resources and the internal legal counsel for the museum, helped work with the team to create the exhibit.

“I grew up learning some things about inventors like George Washinton Carver who invented like 300 different products from the peanut but I didn’t learn a lot about any inventions or any innovations much in our own backyard,” Johnson-Jelks said.

Another exhibit on display projects images of Booker T. Washington’s visit to Grand Rapids that were discovered in the museum’s archive in March 2022.

Grand Rapids Public Museum discovers rare slides of Tuskegee Institute in archives

“Those are very rare. They’re over 100 years old and we had original plates a historically, nationally-known black institution, the Tuskegee Institute,” Johnson-Jelks said.

The museum is also displaying art and writings from Grand Rapids Public Schools for the 19th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice Legacy Contest. The partnership with Warner Norcross + Judd was open to all sixth graders in the district.

Innovators: Celebrating Black History event at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. (Feb. 1, 2024)
Innovators: Celebrating Black History event at the Grand Rapids Public Museum. (Feb. 1, 2024)

Schuitema said the museum works to highlight the diverse cultures that make up the city and region year round.

“It really is truly the community’s museum and our efforts as a whole and as an institution is to connect with all members of this community to share stories,” Schuitema said.

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