Automotive Hall of Fame to celebrate African Americans

DETROIT — The Automotive Hall of Fame is developing a permanent exhibit and educational program that will highlight the contributions of African Americans in the industry.

The Automotive Hall of Fame, in Dearborn, Mich., was founded in 1939 at the World's Fair. It is a museum that has honored nearly 800 individuals from around the globe who have impacted the automotive and mobility industries.

Some African Americans have been recognized, "however, we realize that there are Black people that have contributed to the automotive industry in the past that we have not recognized and that they are underrepresented," said hall President Sarah Cook.

"We plan to highlight several key aspects of Black contributions that created the industry, including the labor, invention, design, engineering and leadership that created the modern automotive manufacturing industry," Cook said.

The museum expects to launch the exhibit and related digital content in February.

The exhibit and educational program will explore how mobility, vehicle ownership and roadways have impacted Black communities in Detroit, throughout the country and around the world, and they will focus on firsthand oral accounts from Black leaders, both historical and contemporary.

"This is a big shift for the hall. It is in response to our culture shift ... we've had in the country," Cook said.

In the past year, the Automotive Hall of Fame established a diversity, equity and inclusion committee, led by board member Hiram Jackson, CEO of Real Times Media.

"Diversity, equity, and inclusion is a priority for the Automotive Hall of Fame. Not just as it relates to inductees but on our board, in our staff, and in the programming we create," Jackson said in a release.

"I won't pretend that we're proud of our past around diversity, but what I can assure you is that the way forward will be starkly different. This initiative is just an exciting first step of many demonstrating the organization's commitment to ensure people of color are properly represented as part of the fabric of the automotive industry."

General Motors, whose vice president of corporate giving, Terry Rhadigan, sits on the museum's board, made a $500,000 grant to the museum to support development of the exhibit and educational program, "Black Innovation, Invention and Leadership in Mobility," over a one-year period.

"AHF's efforts to create and share knowledge will spark social change through general education and promote new learning and career opportunities for our next generation of mobility leaders and influencers," Rhadigan said in the release.

The K-12 educational program is expected to provide an opportunity for expanded field trips to the museum, Cook said.

The GM grant supports the hiring of project consultant Micala Evans, a noted scholar of African American studies, to lead curatorial work and research for the exhibition under a two-year contract and the permanent hire of Kathleen Donald as vice president of operations and programs. In this newly created role, Donald will help lead the museum's re-imagination efforts.

With the hires, the museum, which is operating on a budget of just under $1 million, has a staff of 13.

Research to identify lesser-known African American contributors to the automotive industry is just beginning through the collection of oral histories along with expected artifacts and other related materials, Cook said.

The exhibition is likely to grow and evolve as more stories are uncovered and future contributions from African Americans are recognized, she said.