Remembering African American History With One Last Look at the Kinsey Collection

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) - Rediscovering the African-American story.

After 3 successful months, the Kinsey Collection has wrapped up its time in Panama City.

A send-off celebration took place Thursday with guest speakers, personal stories, and one last look at the collection. The exhibits emphasized the history, struggle, and perseverance of African Americans. The collection featured documents dating back to as early as 1595, and artwork from the civil war era.

It was a special opportunity to study the past through those who lived through it.

“A lot of people don’t understand how we became America...and you have to know the African American story to know how we became America...we say simply you can’t talk about the civil war without talking about slavery, and you cannot talk about civil rights without talking about Jim Crow. And when you put all of that together it becomes more understanding about how we became the country we became,” Bernard Kinsey, Co-Founder of the Kinsey Collection said.

The exhibit has been seen by more than 15 million people in the last 15 years. They hope to reach many more in the future.

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