Guest Blog: Sa’maia Evans ’28
This winter, I spent the month of January interning at the Museum of African American History of Boston, located on Boston’s historic Beacon Hill. As a junior concentrator in African American studies, this internship felt both natural and serendipitous, providing me with the perfect opportunity to gain professional experience in the field of African American history: Something I have spent a lot of time with in the classroom, but not enough time with in the local context of Boston.
Within the Museum – colloquially referred to as MAAH – I worked in the Learning and Engagement Department, supporting a project to create field trip materials for 3rd-12th grade students visiting the Museum’s exhibit on “Black Voices of the Revolution.” This exhibit was curated specifically to spotlight Black actors in the American Revolution as Boston commemorates “America 250,” a nationwide celebration of the 250th anniversary of the United States of America.
Working to research and curate field trip materials for students visiting the exhibit therefore felt particularly impactful, as the context of America 250 accentuated the general importance of MAAH – a cultural and historical marker of Boston’s immense and remarkable Black community, from this country’s controversial inception to the present.
My daily tasks included primary source and archival research into figures mentioned in the exhibit, such as Phillis Wheatley Peters or Prince Hall, in addition to the physical selection and arrangement of these primary source documents into worksheets and activities for students utilizing these materials to enhance their interpretation of the exhibit during field trips. Luckily, the entire MAAH team was also incredibly welcoming and encouraging, meaning that each day also included priceless coffee chats with MAAH staff, in which I was able to learn about all things related to museum operations.
Moreover, I was seamlessly included in many other aspects of MAAH’s intimate team life, such as attending museum and department wide trips to the Massachusetts Historical Society (MHS) and the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. Having the opportunity to visit the Massachusetts Historical Society was an invaluable experience, in which I was able to work with their incredibly knowledgeable team who selected archival materials to assist our work with the Black Voices of the Revolution Field Trip – in addition to learning about the expansive resources that MHS has to support other research endeavors in my academic life. One of my favorite things about working at MAAH, in fact, was being able to view early materials from Black Boston’s fight to desegregate Boston schools in the 1850s.
My visit to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum was no less amusing, as this was my first visit to the museum. I was therefore very lucky to be able to speak with their team in order to learn about MAAH’s partnership with the Gardner Museum for the Gardner Museum’s exhibit on Allan Rohan Crite, an African American artist who was a central community member of Boston’s Black community in the 20th century, known for leaving a lasting legacy beyond the art world. Crite’s renditions of Black life were absolutely astounding, which made for my visit to be quite rewarding – particularly given that the exhibit closed shortly thereafter.
However, my time at MAAH did not only allow me to immerse myself in the intricate behind the scenes world of museum life. Instead, it also illustrated what it means to be a museum that is invested in community life. I was able to attend MAAH’s collaboration with the city of Boston and the Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra for a celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in which local students performed in the Orchestra and on stage, reciting poetry and essays about what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. meant to them. This event had a great turn out and I am grateful to have been involved in a celebration of another Black figure who left such an incredible mark on not only the world, but Boston’s local community.
Overall, I am very thankful to the Museum of African American History of Boston, as I have not only been able to learn a lot about the history of Black Boston, but I have also been able to learn more about careers in the museum world. Although I had never really considered it in the past, I am now highly motivated to learn more about what my life could look like working to preserve and perpetuate the legacy of African American history in this country via museum education. Thank you MAAH!
