African American Museum of Iowa - (LaNisha Cassell)

In 1993  James Clark, Johnny Brown, Marvin Steward, Bebe Davis, Thomas Levi Sr, and Thomas Moore from  Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Cedar Rapids Iowa came up with the idea to start the African - American Museum in the state of Iowa. They wanted to preserve, exhibit and teach black history in the state of Iowa. 

Since its inception, the Museum has had 4 executive directors. The current director LaNisha Reese Cassell is number 4 on that list and she is the first and the only woman to hold that position in almost 30yrs of the museum's existence.

In this episode, I had the privilege to talk to LaNisha about the past, present, and future of the museum and the role the museum plays in advancing the civil rights movement. 

The African American Museum of Iowa is standing at 55 12th Avenue SE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.