ABSTRACT
Over the past decade, the C.H. Nash Museum at Chucalissa, located on the grounds of a prehistoric earthwork complex in Memphis, Tennessee, initiated an outreach program to the surrounding African-American community. The archaeological site was first investigated and the Museum founded as a byproduct of the 1930s Jim Crow era segregation policies. Since its inception, the archaeological site and Museum functioned as a place of academic privilege that ignored the surrounding community. Key to the Museum’s outreach program is a transparency and commitment to community engagement. Highlights of the Museum’s outreach engagement to date include the installation of an African-American Cultural Heritage exhibit, hosting community events, establishment of a community garden, and the collaborative efforts with community partners to carry out service projects. Based in a participatory model, the Museum moved to take its place as a social asset and stakeholder in the Southwest Memphis community.
