IAAM hosting several celebratory events ahead of grand opening

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The Michelin Reception was held at the International African American Museum (IAAM) and guests got a firsthand look at the museum, and there are plenty of other celebratory events taking place over the next few days.

Preparing for a historic moment in the Holy City.

“The journey of the International African American museum has been 23 years strong,” IAAM’s president and CEO Dr. Tonya Matthews said, “though our timeline and the museum will tell it has been several centuries in the making.”

The long-awaited IAAM will have its grand opening next Tuesday.

The museum’s leadership is eager to share the rich world history of African Americans directly on the former site of Gadsden’s Wharf, America’s most prolific slave-trading port.

“We have reclaimed this incredible and important site and can tell this history,” Matthews said. “The story of enslavement and slavery and the arrival of Africans to this place, but we deliberately and intentionally acknowledge that it’s neither the beginning nor the end of the African American journey, it is in the middle.”

IAAM has hosted several events leading up to its grand opening. Thursday, a worship service was held at Morris Brown AME Church to kick off the celebratory events.

News 2 embarked on a guided tour of the new space Friday morning, which was led by the museum’s chief learning and engagement officer Malika Pryor.

“We’re not just engaging the ideas or the notions of people,” Pryor said, “place and time, but also the local, the national and the international diasporic.”

The Michelin Reception followed Friday evening, as well as an IAAM Gala held at Charleston Place.

An opening dedication ceremony will happen Saturday at 10 a.m. at the museum, and there will be a community watch celebration for the dedication in Marion Square.

Many are anticipating the IAAM will bring people from around the world once its doors open next week.

“We expect to see a large increase in cultural visitors to our community,” executive vice president of Explore Charleston Doug Warner said.

News 2 will have special coverage of the IAAM’s weekend events.