After several years of fundraising and preparation, the McKinley Presidential Library and Museum’s push for a Black history wing is moving into high gear.
Tameka Ellington joined the museum in December as its first curator of Black history. Inspired by the book “African Americans of Canton, Ohio: Treasures of Black History” and the committee working to preserve the county’s Black history, she said she has major outreach planned for 2025.
“I want to… go into homes and record some of the oral histories,” she said. “Also, connect to some of the people in the community that have archives that they're willing to part with, donate or lend to the museum. I have no idea what's out there.”
The Cleveland native said she’s already working to establish ties to the county’s Black historians.
“One of the things that I found out as I was coming aboard, some of the staff here were saying that… they were having a very difficult time getting archives because the Black community didn't want to hand those archives over to white staff,” she said. “One of the things that I really want to do is make this museum a comfortable place for people of color. For them to want to donate their monies… or interesting artifacts.”
Ellington estimates that it will take at least until 2026 to establish the initial exhibit, followed by a capital campaign to build a separate wing onto the museum. Why include Black history in a museum dedicated to the 25th president?
“From the onset, he was very adamant about making sure that he gave Black people the proper opportunities that they deserved to have,” Ellington said. “One of the first Black congressmen, George Henry White, was actually appointed by William McKinley. I really want to see if I can find some information about how William McKinley was connected with the Black community here in the Stark County area.”
The National Archives noted that during his first two years in office, McKinley “named nearly as many African Americans to federal office as all his predecessors combined.”
