Tag Archive | african american

Unknown Phenomena of Atlanta: APEX Museum

Mar4
APEX Arc

The APEX Arc

Located on Auburn Avenue, the APEX museum was founded in 1978 by Mr. Dan Moore Sr. This museum was created to display culture and contributions of the African American community in the United States and especially in Georgia. The museum features artifacts, paper tour guides, group presentations, video presentations, and children’s shows. The APEX museum is special because it tells the African American experience (past and present) through the eyes of African Americans in a historically African American neighborhood.

There are two visible doors for entry. The front door is on the side of the building with a highly emphasized red colored walkway. It is indicated as the front door because when entering a visitor will be greeted at the front desk by a tour guide. The exit door is in front of the building that faces Auburn Avenue. The indication that this door is the rear door is because of the gift shop area that is normally at the end of a museum tour. This style can be confusing for a new visitor because of the placement of doors. Consequently, the museum isn’t that big. Visitors can only walk through three rooms; a main room with a gift shop, the Trolley theater room, and the arts/achievement hall room. All of the rooms are connected by a hallway.

 

The exhibits are about African kings and queens, the middle passage, slavery in the United States, and African American businesses and inventions. The exhibits are small but very informative. An ideal tour of this museum would be when entering from the front door, a tour guide will escort you through the main room to the Trolley theater room, passing a few exhibits along the way. In the Trolley theater room is an elevated seating area, the Trolley, with the style of pews. Visitors will sit down and watch two original videos about the history of Auburn Avenue and the African journey to the United States. After that, visitors will be given a paper tour guide that is mainly constructed for the main room around the rows of chairs. Afterwards, visitors can back track by walking to the arts/achievement room that is across from the theater room. Like the theater room, the arts room has two doors so that visitors can walk through the room and walk back up through the hallway to the gift shop at the front of the main room. Additionally, while walking through the hallway, visitors can look at the exhibit of African American inventions.

As of 2016, this museum is 38 years old. It is remarkable that it is still in its same place. The museum displays excellent exhibits and programs however the museum can often be referred to as a historical landmark than a public museum. This could be so because of the lack of space that limits the capacity of information presented. Plans of expansion are prominent but due to financial issues, that dream has been pushed further back.

Location of the APEX Museum

Location of the APEX Museum

Ultimately, what makes the APEX museum so significant is not the information it displays but rather the symbolic aspect of itself. People go to this museum to see it’s content but also to experience the museum itself. After all, it was respectfully considered the world’s largest African American Museum.

APEX Logo

Sources –

  • apexmuseum. The APEX Museum, n.d. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.
  • Murray, Brendan. “Bank forecloses on property owned by APEX Museum” Atlanta Business Chronicle,  2 Dec. 1996. Web. 4 Mar. 2016.

Annotated Bibliography 6: Constructing African American Urban Space In Atlanta, Georgia by Joshua F.J. Inwood

Feb24

INWOOD, JOSHUA F. J. “Constructing African American Urban Space In Atlanta, Georgia.” Geographical Review 101.2 (2011): 147-163. Environment Complete. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.

Joshua Inwood, an assistant professor of geography at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, wrote a journal about Big Bethel AME Church’s $45 million redevelopment project that included housing and retail space. Big Bethel AME Church is a church on Auburn Ave that is one of the oldest black-run institutions in Atlanta. The author sought to explain the implications of the redevelopment project and how it is symbolic to modern black counterpublic places.

I chose this source because it is an analysis of the Sweet Auburn area and the process of recapturing its past culture. There will be of more concentration on the redevelopment. It will talk about the black community, specifically Big Bethel, and it’s efforts to reclaim their neighborhood. This source can contribute to my research of the redevelopment of African American neighborhood with Sweet Auburn being one of them.

Annotated Bibliography 5: REMEMBERING ‘Sweet Auburn Avenue.’

Feb24

“REMEMBERING ‘Sweet Auburn Avenue.’.” Ebony 43.7 (1988): 164. Middle Search Plus. Web. 23 Feb. 2016.

Published in 1988, this article acts as a primary resource for the mindsets of African Americans when Auburn Avenue was culturally destroyed. The article first tells of what Auburn Avenue was to the black community during that time. It goes on to explain how it was split apart by the 75/85 interstate and the citizens reactions. Lastly, it describes the leaders of the community’s plan to bring the culture of Auburn Avenue back again.

I chose to use this source because it gives a first hand description of what the town was like and what it meant to the people. It will also describe the outcome of the neighborhood’s fall. It’s more reliable to use than a textbook because of when it was published. A textbook isn’t going to offer the same descriptions, quotes, examples, and language as this newspaper article did. I could use this source to make a comparison of that article’s Auburn Avenue and the 2016 Auburn Avenue.