The Texas African American Museum is located at 309 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. in Tyler. (Katecey Harrell/Tyler Morning Telegraph File)

When people search “African American Museum in East Texas” on the internet, the Texas African American Museum (TAAM) in Tyler is the only museum shown, said Stanley Cofer, Empowerment Community Development Corporation (ECDC) president.

“Now we get searches from everywhere,” Cofer said. “It makes me feel really good that people are looking at us and searching for us.”

From beginning as an online museum to having cultural memorabilia tucked away in the back of an antique mall, the TAAM has accomplished much since its establishment in 2016.

Now, the museum, located at 309 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., is collecting donations for the ongoing renovation of its building, the former Tyler Fire Station No. 4, to showcase and preserve the history and heritage of African Americans from Tyler, the state of Texas and nationally.

While many offices will close to observe Juneteenth, the museum will celebrate with a free community event with refreshments from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on June 19, which marks the day enslaved Black people in Texas were freed, nearly three years after President Abraham Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.

“We are bringing in more and more people interested in African American history,” said Gloria Washington, TAAM executive director. “We’re getting more recognition from people outside the City of Tyler.”

The TAAM is a locally Black-owned museum that operates through charitable contributions from businesses, individual donations and fundraising events like the Spirit of TAAM Beauty Pageant in August and the Black History Month Gala in February.

In November 2020, the City of Tyler donated the former fire station — a 5,070 square foot facility on about 2 acres — to ECDC, the nonprofit which the museum operates under.

ECDC is in the process of applying for grants to assist in Phase 2 renovations, Cofer said.

Meanwhile, Cofer announced a $1 million campaign to renovate the museum building in May.

The ECDC is a 501© organization that focuses on education, arts, tourism, veteran services, scholarships, grants, youth mentorship, history preservation, community development, housing and economic empowerment, whose mission is to engage in community development activities that provide resources to educate, equip and empower individuals, families and communities.

People can donate online at fundly.com, by check or money order written out to ECDC with a donation to TAAM in the memo and mail to P.O. Box 131301 Tyler, Texas 75713, or bring donations to the museum at 309 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

In February 2022, Dr. Khalilah Camacho-Ali, former wife of Muhammad Ali, pledged $1 million to the Texas African American Museum in Tyler, but she never delivered on that promise.

“We want the public to know that she didn’t give it, but we have not become stagnant,” Washington said. “Many people think we got the money, but yet we’re still out fundraising.”

Washington and Cofer said there is no grudge toward Camacho-Ali, but the public should know the museum never received that money.

“At our last banquet in February 2022, when she spoke and said she was giving us $1 million, nobody else gave a dime,” Cofer said. “This year at our gala in February, multiple people gave, and money even came in the mail afterward.”

Cofer said Washington and the advisory committee are over the past and looking to the future.

Phase 1 – the museum completed about $40,000 in renovations in August.

Some of the renovations included redoing the ceiling, all new ceiling tiles, redoing lighting, adding new ceiling fans, bringing the restrooms up to ADA standards and painting.

About 1,500 square feet on the other side of the museum building will be renovated for Phase 2.

The renovation includes paint jobs for the extension’s interior, completion of two ADA-compliant restrooms, a new roof, lighting and electrical work, removing the fire station roll-up doors, installing windows, and creating a parking lot area.

Several local businesses have donated an HVAC system, foam insulation and windows for the front of the extension.

The area will be open for temporary museum exhibits, conference or meeting rooms and as a community rental space.

The museum tackles renovations in phases and has plans to become as self-sufficient as possible.

There is no entrance fee to visit the museum, but group donations are appreciated.

She said that the board members are volunteers, and everyone involved is active in the community and serving in multiple facets.

“It’s something we enjoy,” Cofer said. “We would love to see more finances come in to accomplish our goal, which is development for the community.”

African American history is American history, he said.

“It took us as a people to make America, and America made us,” Cofer said. “It was a blessing…I know some people may look at it as a curse, but I can speak for myself; I think it’s a great blessing that my ancestors ended up here.”

Washington said younger generations act indifferent to the history of enslaved people in America. The children haven’t studied it, and the parents have forgotten the stories their parents told, and so on.

Washington said history has a way of repeating itself and might come back to bite and encouraged people to study history and genealogy to know what has happened to the African American race.

“It’s stories that people don’t know about that we bring alive,” Cofer said. “One important thing … is the success stories…A lot of times, that is lost with all the verbiage about slavery. Sometimes I think the spotlight can be so big on that, that we miss the opportunity to tell the stories of the success of Black people. We think it’s so very important to keep that history alive.”