In 2019, Elder David A. Bednar of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles presented a $2 million donation on behalf of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to Michael Moore, then-CEO of the International African American Museum in Charleston, South Carolina.
The donation helped to build within the museum a Center for Family History, which is supported by FamilySearch International. The center will be a new resource for the study and advancement of African American genealogy, with connections to Africa and the African diaspora. Elder Bednar called the effort “a perfect partnership.”
“It’s absolutely a day of rejoicing,” Elder Bednar said in 2019. “If you consider the purposes of the International African American Museum and the objectives they hope to achieve in connecting families that have been disconnected and some of the things that we’ve learned about helping to accomplish those objectives, it’s a perfect partnership.”
More than four years later in Charleston, on Friday, June 23, FamilySearch CEO Stephen Rockwood echoed those words when he said the Church’s support of the museum fits perfectly with FamilySearch’s goal to help people learn the truth about their roots, according to an article on ChurchofJesusChrist.org.
“We believe [this museum] is a sacred place,” Rockwood said. “We love it when any experience can be powered by FamilySearch, even if you don’t see our name anywhere. If we can power those sort of experiences just because of the access that we’re able to provide, I think that’s a worthy job to be doing.”
Rockwood and others from FamilySearch participated in the museum’s grand opening ceremony on Saturday, June 24. The museum opens to the public on Tuesday, June 27.
The museum is built on a portion of the former Gadsden’s Wharf in Charleston, where more than 100,000 Africans first touched American soil, said actress and Howard University Fine Arts Dean Phylicia Rashad, a speaker at the grand opening.
“This location represents one of the most prolific slaving warehouses and operations in history,” she said. “But now, today, we reclaim this land and honor the countless lives lost and enslaved with a monument to our history, our families, our heritage, our contributions and, yes, our future.”
The historic location of the museum is significant, the museum’s president and CEO Tonya Matthews said at a news conference on Friday, June 23.
“[This was] our nation’s most prolific transatlantic slave trading port, where nearly 50% of all enslaved human beings who came to what is now the United States would have entered right through this very space,” she said. “It is why we refer to it as hallowed ground, a sacred site. Some folks even reference ground zero.”
Former Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley, who helped start and complete the museum, said the center is a “gift to our country.”
“It is a gift to each of us and to future generations,” he said. “This powerful museum will teach us and inspire us to build a better future together.”
FamilySearch will continue its relationship with the museum and Center for Family History by providing millions of free online records, including resources for a deeper dive into documenting the Atlantic slave trade in Charleston, as well as United States military records for African Americans and online obituaries from the Beaufort County Library.
The museum and center will open new doors of discovery for many who want to learn more about their family history, said Thom Reed, a program manager for FamilySearch African heritage initiatives, has facilitated the Church’s involvement with the museum from the beginning.
“Many people will be healed and will be made whole because of what they’re able to learn about themselves,” Reed said. “This is a launching point for many individuals and many families.”
The Church’s work with the International African American Museum, Rockwood said, is a manifestation of living out Jesus’ two great commandments to love God and love one’s neighbor.
“It’s so wonderful to then find those areas where we can agree and collaborate with each other,” Rockwood said. “And family history, or people wanting to know who they are, where they come from, is one of those areas where like-minded people that are inspired can get together.”
Learn more about the International African American Museum at iaamuseum.org.
