There are more than 2,700 pieces in the collection at the Columbus Museum of African American History & Culture.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — One step inside the Columbus Museum of African American History & Culture and you are instantly taken back hundreds of years.
“This was an actual pay registry from 1864,” Todd Wilson said while pointing to a framed, hand-written register of names with “x” marks indicating signatures. “This was during the Civil War.”
Wilson said there are more than 2,700 pieces in this collection that he spent years curating from around the country. He added that every piece tells a story that has been lost over time. From pictures showing African American women in business and advertising to a platoon of World War I soldiers who fought in France to slave shackles from the late 1800s.
“That’s our goal here at the museum is not only to have pieces that deal with Ohio history, or Columbus history, but the national history,” Wilson said.
For some visitors, being so close to such personal pieces of history brings back memories and conversations they had with their parents.
“It’s nice to have something to remember,” Pearl Perkins said, who visited the museum in January for the first time. “I think people will really appreciate it, especially our younger generation.”
Tassie Roberts said she hopes the museum will offer knowledge and history for future generations so they understand the pain their ancestors endured.
“Some of the articles here I remember my parents having and we so casually threw them out,” Roberts adds. “Some of this stuff is so valuable.”
Wilson hopes the museum will add value to future school groups who get a chance to interact with the museum unlike any other through a series of games.
“If you walk away and you learn maybe four or five things, I mean really learn about things that are of interest, that’s what we want to do here at the museum,” Wilson added.
The struggles and successes of Black history depicted in each of the pieces Wilson collects ironically parallel some of the same challenges his family faced as his ancestors built a company in Columbus from the ground up.
His great grandfather started Jacob and Sons in 1921, a moving and storage company. Wilson, a fifth generation, took over in 1990 when he rebranded the family-owned legacy into Accelerated Laboratory Logistics.
“It’s the story of African American culture,” Wilson said. “This is no different. You have a situation where people are overcoming obstacles and that is the way we look at it. And that’s how I look at running a business. I have obstacles every day.”
Wilson said that is why he proudly houses the museum in his office warehouse off Refugee Road in east Columbus. Seeing history every day offers him hope that in time, people can overcome the struggles before them.
