AndoverMagSpring2015

Courtesy of the National Civil Rights MuseumMany of the owners of the firmsselected were old enough to vividlyremember the personal indignities ofJim Crow in the Deep South. Somehad themselves participated to varyingdegrees in the movement to end segregationand oppression. One examplethat sticks in Howard’s mind is JuanSelf, principal of Self Tucker Architects,Inc., and the project’s lead architect.“His father was a highly respected postmanin Clarksdale, Mississippi, and waskilled most likely for his after-hoursactivism.”This inclusivity extended to thecontractors and construction workers.“Our electrical contractor wasso proud to be on the project that herecruited troubled youth in Memphisand trained them as electricians,”Howard says. He estimates 45 percentof the workers on the project werepeople of color, an astounding figurein the industry. As the project nearedcompletion, the museum held anopen house exclusively for workersand their families, who mingled toadmire their work and share in whatHoward calls their common “espritde Tennessee.”In addition to the professional team,a renovation committee of outsideexperts was assembled. Among themwas fellow PA alum and currentmuseum board member Nnaemeka“Meka” Egwuekwe ’91, a softwareengineer at a Memphis-based tech firmwho served as a technical advisor onthe committee. “The museum had alot of great resources but was heavy onreading and was technologically out ofdate,” says Egwuekwe. “My job was tohelp modernize that technology andmake sure its maintenance was manageablegoing forward.”Egwuekwe marvels at some of theinnovations made by Howard’s team.“They made great use of material themuseum already had, like adding lightingto a Freedom Ride bus to make itlook like it’s actually on fire and projectingnewspaper clippings about the1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike ontoan actual truck from the strike.”Looking back, Egwuekwe creditsAndover with sparking his interestin civil rights and history. “I met kidsfrom all over the country and the worldwho had their own perspectives oncivil rights.” He recalls the influence ofinstructors Ed Quattlebaum ’60, history,Temba Maqubela, chemistry, andSam Matthews (MS) 2 , whose presentationto students on African contributionsto math and science “changed myworldview.”|Giving a Voice to Heroes—and Ordinary PeopleIf there was one mantra echoed byHoward, the museum staff, and theadvisory team, it was a shared commitmentto “getting it right.”“The museum speaks to the fabric andfiber of what makes this country great,”says Robertson. “It’s very daunting toeven think about taking something likethat and making it better. There was alot of pressure to get the story right, tohonor those who died and those whofounded this institution.”For Howard and his team, “getting itright” meant giving a voice to thosewho made the civil rights movementand a means of telling the story in theirown words. As Howard put it, “Ourguiding interpretive aim was to expandthe narrative’s scope beyond a fewfamous heroes to create a more inclusive,compelling journey in which all•1993An alumnus makesan anonymous $10,000donation to GSA.•1994•1994| | | | CAMD appoints the first advisorThe Brace Center for Gender Studies,Barbara Landis Chasebegins her tenure as PA’sfirst female head of school.to students in the LGBTQ community.•1996funded in part by Donna Brace Ogilvie ’30,opens in Abbot Hall.46 Andover | Spring 2015