A Rockford museum is celebrating Black History Month throughout the year with an exhibit that highlights a father and daughter duo.
The exhibit “From Rockford to the White House” features Rockford’s early Black residents James Williams and his daughter Jesse and is on display at Midway Village Museum, 6799 Guilford Road.
Laura Furman, the curator of collections at the museum, said it’s important for the community to know the history of African Americans in the city.
“We get so little opportunity to delve into Black history in schools because there's just not the time to do it,” Furman explained. “It doesn't get very good attention. And you know, the early Black families in our community had really interesting lives.”
Furman said past Black History Month exhibits at the museum have yielded great responses. Because of this, they are left up longer than the celebratory month.
“The stories don't get told in as much depth. We hear a lot about Lewis Lemon, founding Rockford,” she said. “We don't hear as much about some of the other African American families who were in the community.”
The exhibit will remain up until the end of the year. Museum hours are Wednesdays through Sundays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Yvonne Boose is a current corps member for Report for America, an initiative of the GroundTruth Project. It's a national service program that places talented journalists in local newsrooms like WNIJ. You can learn more about Report for America at wnij.org.
