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National Museum of African American Music
Hallowed Sound National Museum of African American Music opens in Nashville
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fter attending an event at the home of baseball legend Hank Aaron in 1998, the late Francis Guess asked himself one question: “Why not Nashville?” Guess was impressed with the diversity of folks who’d gathered at Aaron’s home to support a charity, says H. Beecher Hicks III, president and CEO of the National Museum of African American Music, recalling the story the late civil rights champion told him.
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GO ESCAPE | SUMMER 2021
“On the drive back from Atlanta, he was thinking, essentially, ‘We really ought to have something (just as unifying in Nashville).’ I don’t think he went home. I think he went directly to the home of his friend and publisher T.B. Boyd, and they stood outside in the driveway and talked about what could be.” Guess and Boyd created what was the African American History Foundation of Nashville and began discussing the prospect of a museum with city leaders and community members.
By 2001, a concept had taken shape. A task force formed by the local Chamber of Commerce chartered the Museum of African American Music, Art and Culture. One name change, 20 years and $60 million later, the National Museum of African American Music opened to the public in January, offering an experience that could only be created in Music City.
LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION Why is this museum located in >
GEORGE WALKER IV/ THE TENNESSEAN
BY DAVE PAULSON
