Detroit to give African-American history museum $1.8M for renovations

The General Motors Theater at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History will receive a $5 million revamp featuring cutting-edge technology and increased capacity for theater, spoken word, cinema, and events like dance.

Detroit is investing nearly $2 million in the rich history and culture that helped put the city on the map.

Mayor Mike Duggan announced on Tuesday that $1.8 million of its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds “will go towards a $5 million redesign” at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History.

Established in 1965, the museum remains a cultural gem in Midtown Detroit’s Cultural Center. Its 22,000-square-foot core exhibit, one of the largest single exhibitions on the history of African Americans, offers an immersive experience that aims to educate and transform visitors through inquiry and appreciation of African-American history and culture.

“The Charles Wright Museum of African American History is a gem not only in Detroit, but nationally,” Duggan said in a press release. “We’re thrilled to help the museum move forward with a major facility improvement to help it remain competitive, thanks to President Biden’s American Rescue Plan Act.”

The museum’s General Motors Theater will get a $5 million revamp, which will include cutting-edge technology and increased capacity for theater, spoken word, cinema, and events such as dance. The stage’s redesign will bring the audience closer to the performers for a more intimate environment, which performers, presenters and lecturers frequently seek, according to the press release.

Councilman Scott Benson, a member of the museum’s board of trustees, spearheaded the initiative to allocate part of the city’s ARPA funding to the capital renovations at the museum.

In a statement, he expressed his gratitude to the mayor for earmarking the extra funds for the Wright, which he described as “a cultural institution of great importance to the City and Country and known throughout the World as one of the Best Museums to represent the Breadth and Depth of the American Black Experience.”

Before the remodeling project, slated for completion in early spring of 2024, the Wright, the largest museum of its kind devoted to African-American history when it opened in its current location in 1997, retained many of its original and dated systems and technology.

The exhibition, home to approximately 35,000 objects and historical items, conducts more than 300 public programs and events annually.

“The Charles H. Wright Museum lives in an iconic facility that welcomes thousands of visitors through our doors each year,” said president and CEO Neil A. Barclay. “Support from the city is truly critical in helping us ensure that we can maintain capital improvements while also upgrading our technology on behalf of the institution and community we serve.”

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