America’s Black Holocaust Museum hires new president and CEO | Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service
America's Black Holocaust Museum
August 30, 2019
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The Dr. James Cameron Legacy Foundation is pleased to announce that Dr. Robert “Bert” Davis has been selected as the new President and CEO of America’s Black Holocaust Museum (ABHM). Dr. Davis will be stepping into his new role on Tuesday, September 3, 2019. Dr. Davis assumes leadership on the eve of the reopening of the beloved museum, which closed in 2008, two years after the passing of its founder Dr. James Cameron.
“It is indeed an honor to continue the great and most necessary work of Dr. Cameron,” said Dr. Davis. “He not only was one of the world’s only survivors of a public lynching, but also a true Griot (West African term for storyteller). We must celebrate and advance his vision by keeping America’s Black Holocaust Museum alive.”
Dr. Davis brings an extensive background in nonprofit museum management, education, and fundraising. Most recently, Dr. Davis was Principal of the nonprofit strategic consulting firm DRMD Strategies, LLC and former President and CEO to two Iowa organizations: the Dubuque County Historical Society and the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium.  He is the former President and CEO of the Zoological Society of Milwaukee. During his tenure there, Dr. Davis secured a $6.7 million donation, the largest foundation gift the Society had received to date. Prior to the Zoological Society, Dr. Davis was Vice President of Education for Chicago’s Lincoln Park Zoo.
“Of all the candidates in our search, we felt that Dr. Davis had the greatest combination of skills, experience and commitment to help make the long awaited reopening of the museum successful for generations to come,” said Ralph Hollmon, ABHM Board Chair.
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Dr. Davis has a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from the Tuskegee University School of Veterinary Medicine (Tuskegee, Alabama) and a Bachelor of Science in Animal Science and Biology from Tuskegee Institute and University. He is a Board member of the Association of African American Museums (AAAM) and also a Board member and former Vice Chair of the American Alliance of Museums (AAM).
Dr. Davis humbly and proudly accepts the opportunity and responsibility of continuing Dr. Cameron’s legacy. Standing on the shoulders of the museum’s founders and committed successors – Brad Pruitt, Dr. Fran Kaplan, Reggie Jackson, and countless consultants, volunteers, and supporters – Dr. Davis is excited about the next chapters in the museum’s historic story.
For more information on the museum, fundraising, or other opportunities, please visit www.abhmuseum.org, call 414-374-5353, or email development@abhmuseum.org.
Dr. Robert “Bert” Davis, new President and CEO of America’s Black Holocaust Museum. Current Mailing Address abhmuseum.org New Museum Address 11933 W. Burleigh Street, Suite 100 414-374-5353 401 W. North Ave. Wauwatosa, WI 53222 email: info@abhmuseum.org Milwaukee, WI 53212 ABOUT ABHM and DR. JAMES CAMERON LEGACY FOUNDATION, INC. Dr. James Cameron founded ABHM in 1988. He survived a brutal 1930 lynching in Marion, IN when he was just 16 years old. Dr. Cameron went on to devote his life to civil rights and promoting a just and peaceful society. He founded ABHM to teach others about the forgotten history and harmful legacy of slavery, as well as to promote racial repair, reconciliation, and healing. The museum closed its doors in 2008, two years after Dr. Cameron’s passing in 2006. The new museum is built upon the same footprint as its predecessor on the corner of Vel R. Phillips Ave. (formerly 4th St.) and North Ave. Like the original museum, the new ABHM will include exhibits on African people before captivity, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, auction blocks, the civil rights movement (both past and present), as well as local and national civil rights leaders. One of the primary goals of the museum is to share the under-told stories that are an integral part of U.S. history.
The new museum is a program of the nonprofit Dr. James Cameron Legacy Foundation, which was founded in 2012 by friends and supporters of Dr. James Cameron to continue his legacy. We envision a society that remembers its past in order to shape a better future – a nation undivided by race where every person matters equally. The new physical museum will complement the existing virtual museum (www.abhmuseum.org), which was created to share Dr. Cameron’s story and museum exhibits to a broader national and international audience. Millions of visitors from over 200 countries visit ABHM’s Virtual Museum annually. For more information and/or to donate, please visit https://abhmuseum.org/support/ #