A public meeting was held last night at the Poindexter Community Center for ‘Taking Next Steps Together,” a public forum regarding next steps for the future of the two remaining original buildings of Poindexter Village. Many were in attendance representing from all areas – politics, arts, partner organizations, and concerned community members.
Deidre Hamlar, Project Facilitator, and Julialynne Walker of the James Preston Poindexter Legacy Committee led the meeting. The group has presented the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) with a proposal for the two remaining Poindexter buildings that proposes one be used as an African American Cultural Museum and Resource Center, and the other as an income generating property with possible uses being a Bed and Breakfast, or a fellowship house to provide housing for those who wish to study the site and the migration of African Americans from the South. The CMHA board of commissioners will vote whether to accept the proposal in January, 2015.
“What we want to create will give us a glimpse of what was,” said Walker.
The group feels this site contains a pivotal point of African American history -and national history, and that this story is not being told anywhere else.
“Columbus, Ohio can be the seed for something great,” said Hamlar. “We can fill the information gap that exists in this point in history.”
The group is leading an effort to collect the oral histories and artifacts from anyone who lived at Poindexter Village and the surrounding area. Students from the Ohio State University, led by Professor of History Steven Conn, are collecting the historical materials and assisting with taking the oral histories.
The James Preston Poindexter Legacy Committee is accepting the help of any organization willing to donate time, hours, and space in order for them to help accomplish the task of collecting history. Currently, groups that have offered assistance include the Ohio State University, the Ohio History Connection, the Columbus Metropolitan Library, Columbus Historical Society, Columbus Museum of Art, The Columbus Foundation, and Columbus Landmarks Foundation.
Questions were raised that housing the artifacts in many different places would increase the potential for loss, but Walker assured that there will be clear documentation on each item that is donated.
The hope is to preserve the artifacts in one of the buildings to a museum quality standard, showcasing a 1940s apartment museum illustrative of the décor, design and lifestyle of African-Americans from the Depression era to World War II, to educate and also generate income through tours, exhibit and class fees, gift shop revenue, publications, and other possibilities.
Proof of generating sustaining income is going to be the main roadblock the James Preston Poindexter Legacy Committee must overcome to have this be a solid proposal.
“The finances must be in place and it [the proposed use of the buildings] must not compete with other organizations in close proximity, such as the King Arts Complex,” said Bryan Brown, Chief Development Officer for CMHA who was in attendance at the meeting.
As the property and buildings are owned by CMHA, it is CMHA who will have the final say over the buildings’ outcome.
Concerned citizens asked what is the vision of CMHA for the community that would make the museum inconsistent with that vision, and the response was that while CMHA does support the work of the archive collecting and that they have an interest in supporting and sustaining the exhibit, they may or may not support the proposal for the exhibit to be housed in one of the buildings as a museum if the funding is not there.
“It has to be sustainable,” said Brown.
Anyone who has artifacts from the Poindexter Village site and would like to donate them, or anyone who may like to tell their story, or donate funding for the project are encouraged to contact the James Preston Poindexter Legacy Committee on their Facebook page.
Long term plans for the Poindexter Village site includes 350 multifamily housing units and other neighborhood amenities. The group overseeing the redevelopment of the area was awarded a $30 Million federal grant for the project earlier this year.
For ongoing discussion on the redevelopment of Poindexter Village, CLICK HERE.