Virtual Tour of The Museum

Introduction:
Walking through the wood and bronze hand carved doors from Ghana into the George Thomas “Mickey” Leland Library & Museum of African History, Culture and Social Change, (MLLM) one immediately sees the grandeur of Africa on the entrance. The ornate design is authentic, and expresses the creativity of a people that crosses many continents. As you move through the halls into the rooms of yesterday, today and tomorrow, you will pass the spirit of Sojourner Truth and other ancestors showing you the way to freedom.

I. Welcome to the Hall of the Ancestors. Here you will see the villages of Africa at your fingertips. From the Heart of Gambia, to the Kings and Queens of Ghana, to the rule of Nigeria, to the spirit of Tanzania, the ornateness of Mt Kenya and to the cries of South Africa. See animals unique to the villages, hear the laughter of children, and see the families (by blood and spirit) of those who welcome you. They welcome you to learn where you have come from, but also who they (and you) are today, as a brotherhood rejoined by your experience here.

II. You walk into a village and a video begins the call “Walk of Our Ancestors”. This is based on the historical authority of Africa as the cradle of all civilization. It develops the cultural wealth of Africa: of mathematics, of the first great trade routes, and of the first great cities. It calls you to become an ambassador of hope, not of victimization or ignorance. It calls you to know and understand the tradition of Africa, and to know the truth of how many people have striven to capitalize on the great resources of Africa, including fellow Africans.

III. You come to an entrance that divides between the door of “hope” and the door of “despair”. These doors represent the choices we have as ambassadors in our world today. You enter the door of “hope”. (This is to make graphic the basic human choice we have to be personally responsible for our choices and actions).

IV. You enter a fairly narrow walkway, pass through a series of collages, and hear parts of the speeches of Mickey Leland. You hear also comments on the life of Mickey Leland by those who knew and worked with him. These images introduce you to a man who made “hope” his life’s work. In these images you see the work of a man who believed in young people as having a place in the work of healing the world. You see images of a man who reached out to the poor of the world, with the understanding that the poor are the vast majority of the world peoples. You hear the reasons why hope must be the “philosophy of the brotherhood of our world”. After getting to know the man, you are welcome to the next room, the room of Agricultural Foundations.

V. The room of “agricultural foundations” introduces you to the agricultural struggles of the African people. Having learned of the wealth of Africa, and also the challenges that face Africa as farmers, you learn of drought, and its impact is on innocent people. It shows what has been done and what can be done. It shows the role of world organizations on the regions of Africa, and what Mickey Leland has done to help bring these issues to the forefront of Federal and State legislative bodies. It discusses the bills that he sponsored and what they proposed. This room lays out the trips Mickey made to Africa and the purpose of each trip. It asks you if this makes sense to you? It also shows how being stripped of the fruit of the labor of one’s hands is at the heart of slavery, and a man torn from his rightful role as husband to the earth, is divorced from his own soul.

VI. You enter next into the room of “People of Color”. Here you are introduced to the brotherhood of man, where the American Indian and Blacks are blood brothers, how Blacks owned slaves, and also where Latinos have blended beautifully with the African blood. It shows how those people who have intertwined their destinies have striven to live in peace, while those who violently deny brotherhood are the ones who breed hatred and murder, and oppression. It shows how Mickey Leland had come to understand, through the teaching of Mwalimu (teacher) Julius Nyerere, former President of Tanzania, that the business of Africans was the business of all mankind. It is the business of peace and brotherhood.

VII. Next you enter the room of “Economic Truth”. This introduces you to the world where oppression is not a valid currency of world exchange. In the world of Mickey Leland, the exchange is creativity and celebration of talents of many peoples. It shows you the record of nations that deliberately try to manipulate the prosperity of “lesser nations”. The oppression of a people is sure to follow when nations cannot live with the concept of a balanced and free/open world where security and natural flow of ideas/products are the rule. It will show how the United States has served to both help and hinder the free flow of ideas and products of the people of Africa and has inspired and oppressed the creativity and prosperity of African people in America.

VIII. You next enter into the room of “Freedom and Fear”. In this room you learn about the issues facing the people of color in our world. You learn what challenges there are, and the role that the United States has and potentially have in the future direction of this part of the world. You learn the role of 9-1-1 in the direction of people of color. You learn also the opportunities that Mickey Leland pursued, and how those directions and efforts advanced not only the future of the poor, but of all people. In this room, you also will face the potential horror stories facing African’s and Americans of African heritage including the current justice system and lack of opportunity for our youth. You will see the devastation of HIV/AIDS in Africa, and what it is doing to the young there as well as in America. You will also hear the words of Mickey Leland calling us all to face our freedoms with hope and to face our fears with compassion and courage.

IX. Next comes the room of “Decisions”. Here are images of those who have made an impact on the world, including those youth who followed Mickey Leland. Hear Mickey talk about his vision and the need for all of us to follow our own journey. Hear how all people have a role in the work of people of color. In this room we recognize the organizations in Houston, Texas, and across the nation that have decided to support Mickey’s vision, and we provide ways for you to participate. We recognize organizations and groups whose work is in keeping with Mickey’s vision and we call upon you to make your decision. You will see how getting involved at the city, local, state and federal level is critical, and how we must strive to pull together our resources to keep our eyes on the goal of unity and results for people of color.

X. The one last room you enter is small; it is the room of “despair”. It is important to face despair, for until you do- you will always be unprepared for the urgency of the mission at hand. You will hear from people who have faced utter loss and destruction. You will hear the other side of despair, which is arrogance. You will hear how arrogance, while common in our world today, is the sister to despair. Arrogance is the will to oppress others, to reach a selfish goal. You will see how much of the world depends on us to do the right thing. You will witness acts of arrogance and despair and see what they have done to people of color and poor people in general around the world. You will also see how ignorance to the forces of arrogance is the acceptance of despair. We must act, because we are strong. It is our right and our legacy. As our ancestors have made us strong, despite amazing oppression, we have gained much on their shoulders. It is now our turn to press the effort forward, not backward. Despair will come if we do not study the world and act on our conscience. You will see also that today much of despair in the U.S. is psychological. It is the acceptance by people of color of the arrogance of’ their leaders. We will see that Mickey Leland is still calling us to action to take our stand against despair for all the people of the world.