DALLAS — The African American Museum in Dallas received a $250,000 grant from the Communities Foundation of Texas to begin a multi-year project preserving thousands of archival materials documenting Black history.
The funding will support the first phase of a three-year conservation initiative focused on stabilizing the museum’s collection, which includes photographs, rare books, oral histories, historic documents, and recordings. The grant will also help establish the Harry Robinson Jr. Research and Conservation Lab, scheduled to open in February 2026.
“Before I can build a conservation lab, which is underway, I have to rescue the material,” said Margie J. Reese, the museum’s chief program officer. The museum holds over 1,000 boxes of fragile archival materials that had been stored in conditions that risked deterioration. Phase one involves relocating the materials to temporary secure storage, placing them in acid-free containers, and documenting the collection before deeper conservation and digitization begin.
The museum has hired interns and archival staff, purchased collections management software, and moved materials to a nearby Fair Park building formerly known as the Natural History Museum.
“Phase one is the get ready to be ready phase,” Reese said.
Candace Thompson, community philanthropy officer at the Communities Foundation of Texas, said the project stood out for its focus on long-term preservation rather than short-term programming. “It addresses systemic inequalities in cultural preservation, and it strengthens conservation infrastructure for the museum, improves environmental controls,” Thompson said. “It trains staff but also trains future conservationists of said history.”
Reese said the initial relocation and stabilization process will take about a year, with digitization and conservation work continuing for several more years.
