LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Architectural Digest has named Louisville’s Roots 101 African American Museum one of the 20 top new museums in the world.
The museum, at 819 W. Main St., is still working on fundraising and is open for private tours only, but it's expected to open to the public full-time soon.
Lamont Collins, a collector from Louisville and museum’s founder, said he was excited by the “incredible honor” to receive such a recognition, which was recognized for its design alongside facilities in Washington, London and Giza, Egypt.
Collins has told WDRB News that he loves Louisville and wants to help the city — and the rest of the country — heal from its past.
The museum will tell “the story of the African American journey from Africa and all ports in between,” Collins has said.
Visitors will enter into the museum through the hull of a slave ship. They’ll travel through part of the Underground Railroad on a virtual reality tour and through four floors of historical artifacts.
The book “The Clansman” is displayed near other derogatory images and pieces of Ku Klux Klan propaganda. One poster reads “Don’t be half a man, join the Klan.”
“This started from my personal passion,” said Collins, a Fern Creek High School graduate who played football at the University of Louisville. “I think what they should feel is the pride of the history but also the warts of the history. And you can't heal a wart, or you can't heal a scab, until you allow it to breathe.”
Collins said that the museum remains short of its fundraising goal and asked that people continue to contribute at the museum's website. You can also contact Collins at 502-210-1279.
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