Grout Museum

The Grout Museum in Waterloo, Iowa, is working to gather, save, and share the voices of Black community members for future generations. The lack of Black perspective in the Grout Museum’s oral histories was brought to light during the 2020 social justice movement. The museum plans to hire a local Black professional videographer to conduct the oral histories of Black community members. The museum will collaborate with the community-based Black Stories Collective Committee to share the stories though exhibitions and online publications. The project will promote cultural understanding in the community by fully telling the local history, making it representative of the entire community and ensuring diverse perspectives are heard, particularly as visitors return to the museum following the COVID-19 pandemic.