After operating for more than seven years without a formal space of its own developing popular events like the San Diego Black Film Festival and the Holiday Jazz & Blues Festival in Downtown San Diego, the Black Historical Society of San Diego recently signed a 10-year lease with a 5-year option for a 2,800-square-foot facility, located at 740 Market St. in Downtown’s East Village.
The facility will house archives from the Black Historical Society of San Diego, a research and genealogy room, offices, meeting space and museum space featuring both permanent and rotating exhibits, according to Karen Huff-Willis, chairman of the Black Historical Society of San Diego.
“We were very excited, you know. We had been searching for the right space for really a couple of years,” she said. “We settled in the right space down at 7th [Avenue] and Market [Street] and we’re very excited. There’s a lot of room for expansion.”
Huff-Willis explained the museum’s permanent exhibit would feature African-American history in San Diego.
“When you walk in, one of the first things you’ll do is you’ll get an overview of the history of blacks all over San Diego County, from Downtown to Julian,” she said. “They’ll be photographs, they’ll be artifacts, you know. It’s exciting, and of course, when you go into the back, into the exhibit hall, that’s where we’ll have traveling exhibitions coming through.”
The rotating exhibits will feature a variety of topics including ancient nubians and blacks in the military, Huff-Willis said.
The facility will also house The Mabel Rowe Gift Store, selling T-shirts, soaps, candles, cards, books, coffees and sandwiches. Patrons will be able to purchase tickets for events like the San Diego Black Film Festival, local tours and the Holiday Jazz & Blues Festival there, Huff-Willis explained.
“Mabel Rowe was a very historic African-American lady in Downtown San Diego, so we decided to name our gift store after her,” she said. “She’s the founder of the Douglas Hotel and the Creole Palace.”
Even the facility’s new physical location on Market Street holds historical significance for African-Americans, Huff-Willis explained.
“All of that area between 7th and Market, 8th, down to 10th has always been a very important area for African-American businesses, so we’re just happy to be there, a part of that right there on Market Street,” she explained.
In addition, starting in February, Huff-Willis mentioned the Black Historical Society’s plans to start the East Village Farmers Market, to take place between 8th Avenue and Market Street.
“And we’re going to run that every Saturday morning from about 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., so you’ll be able to come down and get some great produce from our farmers market,” she explained.
Although grand opening festivities are planned for sometime in April 2008, Huff-Willis said the facility would open to the public at the end of January, just in time for February’s Black History Month.
As for how she sees the new facility impacting the city, Huff-Willis said, “Well I think it’s an important thing for the City of San Diego.
“Not only is it important to the Black Historical Society, but the fact that there’s finally a facility housing the Black Historical Society and a museum of San Diego African-American history. It’s significant to the city of San Diego in terms of tourism, in terms of cultural-related events.”
In addition to their work downtown, The Black Historical Society also operates the America Newton Gift Shop and the Julian Black Historical Museum in the town of Julian, according to Huff-Willis.
For more information on the new facility and the Black Historical Society of San Diego, go to www.blackhistoricalsociety.org.