An Interview with the Curator

afroamcivilwar.com

Hari Jones, the Assistant Director and Curator of the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum was gracious enough to conduct a phone interview with me. From the interview, I learned not only was it his passion to keep the memory of African American Civil War soldiers alive, but to also add to it by digging deeper and learning more.

Jones's love for the Civil War, specifically African American's involvement in the Civil War, began many years ago. His grandmother was the one to first spark his interest when she would talk about her great-great-grandfather who lived during the war as a scout.

Then, the more he learned in school, the more he wanted to dig deeper into history he felt was not being told correctly. One professor taught in class that African Americans were insignificant in the Civil War. "After he adamantly told students this, this is when I decided to dig as deep as I could into the subject matter," Jones reflected.

His involvement in the Marine Corps allowed him event further education by allowing him to analyze different battles and when he had the opportunities to select a battle of his choice to look at, Jones selected Civil War battles. 

"In 1996, I decided to pursue the topic full-time and by 1997, I was dedicated to digging deeper in primary sources to present the story rather than regurgitate what other scholars said. I wanted the truth," Jones said. Jones has been working at the museum for nine years now.

To Jones, the museum is a platform to tell an American story. "For me, the story has been suppressed and falsified," Jones explained. "Its important to tell the story, that was left out, to the American people."

The museum's goals are ultimately to tell the stories of the United States Colors troops and others involved in the American Civil War. "Our main goal is to bring attention to the historical events that occurred and the roles that different African Americans played during the war," Jones said. "We also want to begin integrating material into school curriculum across the country and feature each of the states and tell the story of what went on in the state during the war."

"The challenge however is not getting the information we need to tell the story. That is accessible," Jones said. "The challenge is getting a bigger building and getting the funds to do all of this and tell the story that needs to be told."

The museum plans to begin holding teacher seminars, assisting teachers, and working with libraries and the archives of Congress to accomplish these goals. 

Luckily, time is on the museums side. It is currently the ongoing 150th anniversary of the American Civil War and the museum is using that to their advantage. With events such as galas, lectures, and more, the museum is able to present the story from the African American's perspective by using primary sources. The events began with the anniversary of the day the war began. The museum held and event on April 12th.

With thousands of visitors a year, the museum is doing a wonderful job at telling the African American Civil War soldier's stories. With the use of social media, both Facebook and Twitter, a website, and attention from the press, the museum is one of the top ten spots to visit in Washington D.C. For more information, visit their website here.