Empowerment CDC Board member and Mistress of Ceremony LaRhonda Hamilton speaks at the annual Texas African American Museum and Empowerment Community Development Corporation gala and fundraiser Saturday.

The Texas African American Museum received a $1 million donation during the inaugural Texas African American Museum and Empowerment Community Development Corporation gala and fundraiser Saturday.

The goal of the gala, spotlighting Black History, was to raise $100,000 for expansions and renovations to the museum at 309 W. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. This goal was more than met when guest speaker Dr. Khalilah Camacho-Ali, former wife of Muhammad Ali, announced her donation of $1 million.

When Camacho-Ali made her announcement, attendees in the room were all incredibly surprised, said Gloria Washington, TAAM executive director.

“We just started going from one individual to the next just hugging, and praising and thanking,” Washington said.

This donation was completely unexpected but “truly a blessing,” Washington said. She said there are still legal aspects to be worked out before everything can be finalized, she added.

“You never hear of a small town museum, whether it’s African American or whoever … receiving this type of donation from anybody,” Washington said. “You can write for grants and things like that but there’s not going to be a $1 million value to it.”

Clarence Shackelford, TAAM co-founder, said a donation such as this could help the museum not only potentially further develop physical attributes of the building but also things such as education, events, a traveling museum, artifacts and more.

“Dr. Ali loves museums, so we fell in line with something she really cares about,” Shackelford said.

Just a couple of days after receiving the donation, Washington said, “we have to pinch ourselves and see if it’s real.”

The gala itself, which featured a speech from Camacho-Ali, live music, food and more, had a great turnout, Washington said.

“The gala has brought more attention to the Texas African American Museum,” Washington said. “It has let people know that we are here in Tyler, Texas, in North Tyler.”

Since its founding, the museum has grown from having only a social media presence to where it is today. Shackelford said he founded the museum after moving from Germany back to his hometown.

“When I came back I actually didn’t see any physical evidence of another historical museum in Tyler that had anything showing … that any Black person or family had ever lived in Tyler,” he said.

Today TAAM is a place to “showcase history – past, present and even some projections as to what’s going to happen in the future because some things are already scheduled to happen,” Shackelford said.

Washington said she encourages everyone to come and visit the museum, which is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.