1988:  Black Holocaust Museum Opens

James Cameron, the sole survivor of a 1930 lynching in Marion, opened a museum in Milwaukee, WS, to teach people about the horrible treatment endured by many African Americans.  The museum was housed in an abandoned 12,000-square-foot gym.  The city of Milwaukee only charged him one dollar for the building.  Cameron got his inspiration in 1979, when he and his wife visited Israel and Yad Vashem, to see the Holocaust memorial.  He was moved by the exhibits of Jewish persecution and by the following inscription: “To remember is salvation.  To forget is exile.”  He told his wife, “Honey, we need a museum like that in America to show what happened to black people.” 

Cited by:  Black Holocaust Museum, Milwaukee, WS