[VIDEO, GALLERY] On The Scene: Wall Street Juniors, Inc. Present Black History Wax Museum
Durham, NC – Russell Memorial CME Church invited “On the Scene” to attend “Black History Wax Museum,” a free event held immediately after their fourth Sunday Church Service and Lunch Fellowship. The event was sponsored, organized, and facilitated by Wall Street Juniors, Incorporated (WSJinc).
Upon arriving, I was welcomed and greeted by the WSJinc co-founder Priscilla, who immediately became my sister. Having confused me with her actual sister, mentioning that I resemble her, the energy and love was launched and felt from the beginning. Priscilla directed me through the Church Fellowship Hall where there were southern cooking aromas of BBQ ribs, potato salad, baked & fried chicken, baked beans, greens, chitterlings and fatback, as well as scents of sweet potato and coconut pies, fresh baked brownies and lemon pound cake. This set the mood for all the knowledge about to be received during this Black History Month program.
Once through the fellowship hall, Makayla Booker, founder of WSJinc, greeted me warmly with a hug, thanked me for my attendance and gave me a red Admit One ticket to make this Black History Wax Museum authentic, with a classic entry. This ticket allowed me entry into a world of black history, making it even greater to be shared by our black youth ranging in ages 7 to 16.
Full disclosure…this was my first time in attendance of a live Museum experience so I didn’t know exactly what to expect.
The directions were simple. Step on the green start button in front of the featured African American display. The Juniors will go live and be in character of the individual in black history that they had the honor of sharing their story…many of whom have been overlooked and/or unrecognized from our history.
ENLIGHTENING
For me, this was an entirely new way for sharing history in an interactive forum. Each Junior assisted in creating their character’s profile via artsy information poster board, clothing from their characters era and props that showcased more about each history lesson shared. My top three who were recognized at the Black History Wax Museum is a part of our black history and was unknown to me were: Annie Malone played by junior Kaija S., Maggie Lena Walker played by junior Jada L., and Claudette Colvin played by junior Zoleah R.
EMPOWERING
The education of these three black women was empowering to me in forms ranging from Beauty Business, Financial Literacy, and Activism.
Annie Malone: Businesswoman, inventor, and philanthropist who developed mail-order process for beauty care products; known as the mentor and educator of the very well-known Madame CJ Walker, the first African American Woman millionaire, with Annie Malone following behind to be the second millionaire.
Maggie Lena Walker: Teacher, businesswoman, and banker, Walker was the first African American female bank president to charter a bank in the United States. As a leader, Walker achieved successes with the vision to make tangible improvements in the way of life for African Americans and women.
Claudette Colvin: American nurse and a pioneer of the Civil Rights Movement during the 1950s, Colvin at the age of 15 and pregnant, refused to give up her seat on a bus months before Rosa Parks. Parks is more known worldwide known for leading the protest in civil rights activism because NAACP felt Colvin, an unwed teenage mother, was not an appropriate choice to lead the movement.
ENTERTAINING
These three women were my top highlighted selections of the Wall Street Juniors, Incorporated Black History Wax Museum. Christina Carteaux Bannister, Clara Brown, Assata Shakur, King Alfonso I of Kongo, Daymond Jones, Marian Rogers Croak, Mary Church Terrell, Maulana Karenga, Ernie Barnes, and Kwame Torre were all figures in our Black History who were recognized. Thank you Wall Street Juniors for entertaining me by way of knowledge and education.
ABOUT: Wall Street Juniors, Inc is dedicated to taking you on a journey through financial literacy and to create future investors to increase promotion of generational wealth. To this organization, it is important that they provide knowledge and information on generational wealth financial literacy education and community mentorship.
Photos/Video: Justin Williams of Unifyed Visuals
