Statements
Mission
The mission of the African American Heritage Society Museum is to promote cultural and historical preservation, encourage tourism, create family legacies and educate the public about the rich black heritage of Franklin and Williamson County, Tennessee.
Background
The African American Heritage Society was founded in 1992 by the collective efforts of a small group of concerned citizens to preserve and protect African American History of Williamson County. The group was made up of local citizens, both black and white. Three were retired educators, two were historians, and one was the Executive Director of the Heritage Foundation. The organization was built on a strong and solid foundation. That strength is prevalent today. One major project of this organization was the preservation and opening of the McLemore House Museum. It is the oldest residential structure built by ex-slave Harvey McLemore in Williamson County in 1880. Mr. McLemore's descendants remained in the home for 117 years until it was condemned. It was later restored as the Museum and opened for tours in 2002. It is currently open from March to November and has attracted individuals and large groups from all over world as well as students from the local schools. The McLemore House Museum is a great reconstruction story and a crucial part of the rich history. It demonstrates the success of a former slave who persevered after he became a free man despite his years of dehumanization as a slave and his after-slavery struggles. In addition to the Museum, the organization coordinates events throughout the year that serve to promote history and education. The Black Tie Affair recognizes local African American families who can trace their history back 150 years and African Americans who have made significant contributions to the African American History and culture in Williamson County. Proc's Amateur Hour is a Talent Show that is a pre-Black Tie Event to help raise funds to offset the cost to honor the recipients. Juneteenth is a free event that is a celebration of the freedom for African Americans that occurred on June 19, 1985. An annual Prom raises funds for $1000 scholarships to be given to up to four high school seniors. The Educational Scholarships honor Tommy Murdic, one of the founders of the AAHS. A Black Expo highlights businesses who are owned by local African Americans.The organization has developed great community relationships with other historic preservation organizations including The Battle of Franklin Trust, the Historic Masonic Lodge, The Heritage Society, and the City of Franklin Historical Civil War Commission. These relationships allow the organizations to build on the collective history of the county.
Impact
Accomplishments for 2023 - More than 700 people attended the 22nd annual Black Tie Affair, which benefits the African American Heritage Society and the McLemore House Museum and the Merrill-Williams House. Each year AAHS recognizes a Pioneer Family, a family who can trace its family line in Williamson County back to the 1850s and beyond from county records. This year's Pioneer Family was the Hatcher family, descendants of Ned and Maria Hatcher, who were slaves owned by John R. Hatcher and his father, William (and Lucy Rucker), Hatcher. We also presented a number of civic, social, educational and religious awards to members of the community. This year, an additional award, the Posthumous Award, was presented to the family of Sgt. Barbara Jean Lane Derricks, the first African American Female Franklin Police Officer. We also held our 19th Annual community-wide Juneteenth Celebration at the McLemore House Museum. The celebration ended in Downtown Franklin where a plaque commemorating A.N.C. Williams, a prominent African American merchant and community leader, was unveiled. Upon his emancipation from slavery in 1863, A.N.C. Williams opened a shoe repair store on the square, the first black-owned business in Franklin. He later purchased real estate directly on Main Street, owning and operating a general merchandise store for over 60 years.
Throughout the year we had many people from all over the country tour the McLemore House Museum Museum to learn more about the life and legacy of Harvey McLemore and the rich African American history embedded in the soil of Franklin, Tennessee. On July 16th we held our 7th Annual T. E. Murdic Scholarship Prom and awarded nine Williamson County students with $1,000 scholarships to continue their educations. The Tom E. Murdic Educational Scholarship was created in 2015 and was named in honor of late-AAHS board president, community leader and Franklin native, Thomas Murdic. We have awarded $41,000 in scholarships since 2015.
On the First Friday of each month we held "Porch Talks" at the McLemore House Museum and brought in prominent authors and speakers. These are well attended and help educate the public and increase their appreciation and understanding of Black history. We also have a monthly book club where we read and discuss a wide variety of books. This has fostered learning, curiosity and critical thinking. It also has created a sense of community for the members.
Needs
We continue to need to raise funds to help with staffing of our organization. We have grown so much with our volunteers but are needing to hire full and part-time staffing to continue to support the important needs of African American Historic preservation. We also need to continue to raise money for renovations of the historic Merrill-Williams home. This home will be preserved and become a neighborhood heritage center that tells the history of the surrounding Natchez area as well as the stories of the Merrill and Williams families. We also will continue raising money to address ongoing maintenance issues while being consistent with requirements for historic preservation.
CEO Statement
As the Executive Director of the African American Heritage Society of Williamson County, I feel very excited about the state of our organization and its effectiveness as we adhere to our mission statement and purpose, which is to chronicle the lives and contributions that African Americans have made; to collect, preserve and interpret artifacts pertaining to Williamson County African American culture and to increase understanding and appreciation of the African American culture for present and future generations. Our organization has developed great community relationships with other historic preservation organizations: The Battle of Franklin Trust which manages the historic Carter House and Historic Carton partners with our organization by assisting with tours, genealogy and ancestry research. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also partners with AAHS and assists us in genealogy research. Other community partners and supporters, such as the Heritage Foundation, Franklin's Charge, Hard Bargain Association, and the City of Franklin Historic Civil War Commission which gives us a strong support system from our community along with our city and county governments. On a more personal level, as President of AAHS, I want to assure that the mission is being fulfilled and that the organization is sustainable and the rich history continues to be told despite who is leading. The founders worked extremely hard to create AAHS in 1992 and 31 years later we are still going strong. The organization began with volunteers and continues to operate with mostly all volunteers but we are needing to raise funds for paid staffing as we continue to grow in our efforts to tell the full story of African American History.
Board Chair Statement
As President of the African American Heritage Society of Williamson County, I feel we are in a good position to make positive change and we are fulling our mission to preserve and protect the African American History and Culture and to educate the community on the importance of our history.
Service Categories |
|
| Primary Category: | Arts, Culture & Humanities - History Museums |
| Secondary Category: | Arts, Culture & Humanities - Historical Societies & Historic Preservation |
| Tertiary Category: | Arts, Culture & Humanities - Museums |
Areas Served
We are located in Franklin Tennessee in Williamson County and focus mainly on the events that occurred in our area but our outreach goes throughout the country as families grow and settle elsewhere. Many return to Franklin to learn about their roots and the stories of their ancestors. We also see great interest from tourist, civil war enthusiasts, genealogist and family history specialists.
| TN - Williamson |
