Copyright M Live Michigan
PITTSFIELD TWP., MI — An institution that uplifts local Black culture and history has reached another major milestone. For the first time, the African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County has a full-time, paid executive director. Lawrielle West took the helm at AACHM in August excited to help usher in a new chapter for the museum at its new permanent location in a renovated farmhouse dating back about 180 years at 3261 Lohr Road in Pittsfield Township, just outside Ann Arbor. “Throughout time, the things that have really stayed the same are my caring about community and me being able to find time and space to share stories and uplift Black history and culture,” West said. “I’m excited about this role because it is a culmination of all my roles,” she said. A University of Michigan graduate with a master’s degree in social work, West has a varied background in community organizing, nonprofit work, and entrepreneurialism. After graduation, she went to South Africa to work with the University of the Western Cape’s Mayibuye Archives, helping to tell the story of apartheid. When she returned, she got involved with local organizations in Detroit, including the Black Bottom Archives, Detroit Action and Black Youth Project 100. She most recently worked for the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History coordinating volunteers and interns, and she also coordinated some events. On top of all that, she is also an entrepreneur who founded KwanzaaMe, a business that sells Kwanzaa-related products and offers workshops and other programming, and LWest and Co., a consulting service for nonprofits, businesses, and cultural institutions. She is also a lecturer for the UM School of Social Work. Hiring a full-time director at the AACHM was made possible through funding from the Andrew Mellon Foundation’s Humanities in Place Program. West’s goals for the museum include uplifting local artists and local stories through exhibits and other programming. But she also envisions the museum as being a space the entire Washtenaw County community can use. “We are first a historical and cultural museum,” West said. “Being community-based, it’s making sure we are including emerging artists and local stories. I think we’re really at the forefront of telling those stories that you will not really see anywhere else.” The museum is currently exhibiting “Sound & Color for My Mind,” the debut solo exhibition of Ypsilanti artist Lauren McHale Mills, through Dec. 13. Beyond museum exhibits and programming, West said the museum can also host “all types of intimate events,” from family reunions to baby showers, book launches to community group events or staff retreats. “We really want to make sure our museum doesn’t fall into some tropes that museums have to be elitist or exclusive. We are for everybody,” West said. “I want this to be a hair away from being a community center,” she said. The museum is also planning to install a permanent, rotating exhibit focused on Washtenaw County. It would rotate in new materials on certain time periods or topics, which could include things like Black social clubs and their impact on the local community or notable local politicians. “It will be a permanent exhibit where people will always be able to come to the museum and learn about some aspect of Black Washtenaw County,” West said. She expects to launch that exhibit in December. Also in December, the museum will once again celebrate Kwanzaa with events in partnership with other groups. The museum is also planning to celebrate the ongoing restoration of Woodlawn Cemetery, a historic Black cemetery at 7800 S. Huron River Dr. in Ypsilanti Township, which fell into a state of disrepair. West also loves collecting objects that speak to her. She found a collectible Ghanaian Barbie doll and a puzzle from the 1996 animated and live action comedy “Space Jam,” starring basketball legend Michael Jordan and Bugs Bunny. She sees potential in materials that people collect that have cultural meaning for them. “I like vintage things, and I like thrifting,” she said. Recently, she attended a conference and learned about materials a man had collected that were helping his family know him better. “That made me think more about being an archivist and how we have a lot of community historians and archivists who will never be known by those names,” she said. “A lot of times people’s stories that are not mainstream or known will not be assigned value. They will just be called a pack rat or someone who just wants to hold onto their things. A lot of times, those are stories. They are representative of people,” she said. Thinking of her own personal archive of objects, it is something she would be interested in displaying one day. “Those things that feel important to you, you should preserve, and we as a museum are open to that,” she said. Debby Covington, who chairs the museum’s board of directors, called West “a blessing.” “We had a very talented group of individuals to select from, and we were looking for someone who was entrepreneurial-minded, because first and foremost this is a business and we have to make sure that we’re raising funds and paying our bills,” Covington said. Covington was also impressed by West’s varied experience, from being a social worker to her work for museums and nonprofits. “We also wanted someone who was Afrocentric,” she said. “That was so important because we have people who are business-minded and can say, I’ve always been interested in Black history. But Lawrielle lived Black history in every aspect of who she is. We wanted someone who is unapologetically Black.” Covington also has confidence West is someone who can connect Black Washtenaw County and “mitigate the schism between Ann Arbor and Ypsilanti to unify people around a common goal,” she said. The museum is open to the public noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays.
