Save Your History, Museum Urges Blacks - washingtonpost.com: ... Held in collaboration with the Chicago Public Library, the daylong event featured classes where attendees could learn how to safely handle and preserve photos, clothing, textiles, collectibles, books and paper items.
The program was the first in a Smithsonian series called 'Save Our African American Treasures.' Similar events are planned for Atlanta, Los Angeles, New York City and Washington, D.C.
Attendees also were able to meet one-on-one with conservation experts, similar to the PBS show 'Antiques Roadshow.' However, the emphasis was not on financial worth, but cultural and historical significance.
Wearing cotton gloves, the conservation experts dispensed advice on preserving more than 100 items.
Some of the items included a cap worn by a sleeping-car porter working for the Pullman Co. and a gold-colored pin given to a top saleswoman by Madam C.J. Walker, a black entrepreneur who built a fortune by developing and marketing hair care and beauty products to African-American women in the early 1900s.
