ABSTRACT
Up until now, I have focused on general British and American museum-visitor perspectives of African origins. It is important, however, to take a closer look at how black museum visitors, as one of several groups marginalized in museums, have a unique relationship to Africa, African origins narratives, and the museum itself.1 Through a variety of visitor responses, it is apparent that black museum visitors constitute a distinct interpretive community which experiences origins images and natural history museums in specifi c ways.2 Most significantly, black museum visitors provide important counter-narratives to the conventional “up-and-away-from-Africa” story told by museums.
