July 26, 2008
In its commitment to work with organizations to increase their capacity for serving communities, The Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) recently awarded a $20,000 Seed Capacity Building Grant from the Office of Community Capacity Building (OCCB) to the Moton Museum.
The Moton Museum will use the award for operating support and capacity building. In addition, the Moton Museum will receive from the DHCD training and technical assistance in strategic planning, board and staff development, financial management, fund development, marketing and communications, and information systems.
“We are committed to supporting programs and organizations that promote development and enhance the quality of life in communities throughout Virginia,” said DHCD Director Bill Shelton. “The Moton Museum is vital to preserving and interpreting a significant piece of history in America’s civil right’s movement.”
“In addition, the preservation of this history through the Moton Museum will support regional economic development and sustained cultural awareness,” added Shelton.
“Receiving this DHCD grant is not only an honor, it will further enable the Moton Museum to accomplish it organizational goals,” said Moton Museum Director Lacy Ward, Jr. “The museum is eager, also, to have the opportunity to receive technical assistance and training from DHCD.”
The mission of the Moton Museum is to preserve and positively interpret the history of Civil Rights in Education, specifically as it relates to Prince Edward County and the role its citizens played in America’s struggle to move from a segregated to an integrated society.
The Moton Museum is located in the former R. R. Moton High School at 900 Griffin Boulevard, Farmville, Virginia. Moton was the site of the April 23, 1951 student walkout in protest of inferior educational facilities led by 16-year-old sophomore Barbara Johns. The Moton strike launched Prince Edward County’s 13-year struggle for Civil Rights in Education and resulted in the filing of Davis v. Prince Edward, which called for an end to racial segregation in public education. Davis was decided, along with four other cases, in the Supreme Court decisions Brown v. Board (1954) and Brown II (1955).
Museum Information:
Robert Russa Moton Museum
900 Griffin Boulevard
Farmville, Virginia 23901
(434) 315-8775
www.motonmuseum.org