As we take the month to highlight the historic assets of our community, our team had the pleasure of chatting with Protean Gibril — President of the African American Resource Cultural and Heritage Society.
Read below as she shares on the mission, programs, and upcoming projects of the local non-profit organization that is dedicated to honoring the significant contributions of African Americans in Frederick County's past and present.
AARCH’s Mission:
AARCH Society identifies, collects, preserves, and makes publicly accessible through our programs and services the objects, artifacts, and stories about the history, rich heritage and culture and the contributions of African Americans in Frederick County past and present and in doing so educates, enriches and enlightens this and future generations.
Programs & Services:
AARCHReads—-Through lively video recordings of storybook readings, this program promotes reading and literacy and encourages young children and their parents/guardians to celebrate African American culture and address the challenges faced in the past and present.
Cemetery Restoration and Preservation – This program preserves African American legacies and stories by caring for and restoring these sacred sites around Frederick County.
Family History Fairs–These events bring the community together to share the history of families, churches and organizations, and also offer opportunities to research family ancestors and to appreciate the importance of preserving African American history.
Historic Walking Tours– These 60- to 90-minute guided tours bring to life the history and stories of the thriving African American culture, businesses, people, and community leaders living on historic All Saints Street and the surrounding area.
Living Treasures–Each year, AARCH Society celebrates our “Living Treasures”—African Americans aged 90 years and older, on whose shoulders we stand—the documentary “The Tale of the Lion” captured many of their stories on film and premiered at Frederick’s Weinberg Arts Center. We had created several videos to capture these historic moments, like the “By-Gone Days” of Lincoln High School”, the only black high school of it time.
School Presentations– AARCH Society members are available by request to speak to classrooms about Frederick County’s African American history, activism, and achievements.
Importance of AARCH to the Frederick Community:
Since its inception, the AARCH Society's leaders, William O. Lee and former leader David V. Key, have been transforming Frederick County's understanding of who we are as a community by presenting the full, untold Black history and experiences to visitors, from the hardships of enslavement to the triumphs and celebrations of this amazing county's people.
The Heritage Center, which will be opened by the AARCH Society, will take us to the next level. People from all walks of life and cultures will have a greater grasp of our past, as well as learn more about our contributions and how we helped shape Frederick County.
Update on the Heritage Center at 125 E All Saints Street:
The Heritage Center Heritage Center is located on the ground floor of the East All Saints Street Parking Garage in Downtown Frederick. It is ideally situated near the Frederick Visitor Center, the Delaplaine Arts Center and the Sky Stage. It adds another prominent destination in Frederick for heritage tourism. The Heritage Center will include a variety of programs, permanent exhibit space, and research. It will also be available for community events and gatherings.
The nationally recognized firm, AMAZE Design is developing an exciting array of exhibits and media to tell this important but underrepresented story. It will showcase local artifacts and feature first-hand accounts of Frederick’s living treasures, like the local African American residents over 90 years old.
There is tremendous community support for the Heritage Center. The project has received strong financial support from state and local government, private foundations and individuals, were are so thankful and very excited. And we look forward to continued support, we need to finalized our design phase by the end of year and move quickly to fabrication and installation phase late next year. The final design and fabrication is still needs a lot more funding and we are looking for new ways to fundraise to bring our center to it’s full potential. Our projected goal is to raise $2 Million to finalize the project and open the doors to this historic site in late 2024.
How to get involved
Everyone is invited to be part of this historic moment. We need help in expanding our reach through donations and volunteerism. With your help, we can reach even more people with inspiring and revealing stories and addressing today's challenges and true sources of inspiration and resilience for the future. The organization has been extremely blessed and thankful for the amazing support through our sponsors, and donors and volunteers
Become a member and know that you are supporting and promoting a better understanding of the County’s past and present. Help us and become our best advocate to put our history in its rightful place.
What’s next?
Our objective has remained the same for over 20 years: to shine a bright light on the history of Frederick County's rich legacy and culture, as well as the contributions of African Americans past and present, enriching and illuminating this history for future generations.
We are really close to selecting our first Executive Director and are quite enthusiastic about it. Stay tuned, since we are seeking for the leadership that will make our forefathers proud, this person will bear the torch that preserves, shares, and celebrates... Our Experience.
Does your business or non-profit organization have exciting news? Contact the City of Frederick’s Department of Economic Development for opportunities to share your story at business@cityoffrederickmd.gov.