The Moorish community is missing a key part I believe.
We lack any kind of museum for our people. I know that
this statement will be immediately met with questions on
both sides of the argument. One may ask, what is the
purpose for a museum? Well there are many important
reasons for our community to have one. First it would
validate us as a people; we would be able to recognize
our Moorish ancestors and their history, but not only
their history their contribution to this land and
America. There are many Moors who served in the
Revolutionary War, Civil War, WWI, and WWII, and many
other wars that have not gotten the recognition they
deserve. They have not been recognized for their bravery
and service to this country, a museum would allow us to
tell their tales and honor them.
Secondly a museum would allow us to tell our story, and
provide a learning place where we can come together as a
people and learn of our origins from the very beginning.
A museum would be a gathering place for the Moorish
community, where we could come together as one and have
a place to mourn and celebrate our ancestors and their
history. By having a museum, we cannot only see and look
to where we have been but also look to and see where we
are going. We can educate our own people as well as
others about our ancestors and their history, and our
children would have a reference point for their culture
and heritage. Third, we would be able to control our
destiny as a people, because for once we will have been
able to define ourselves as a people. No longer would we
be relying on others to dig up our artifacts and decide
what they are or aren’t. Nor would we have our artifacts
displayed in a museum that is geared towards
White-European history. They would be our artifacts, and
we could display them proudly and tell the true story of
our heritage and history. They would be our artifacts in
a museum geared towards our people. It would be
interesting to see all the Melungeon websites pull
together, in an effort to get some talk going about a
museum, something I believe we as a people would greatly
benefit from and deserve. Some of the more traditional
people in our community also point out the need to
protect sites sacred to our people. Many sites, where
artifacts of our people have been found, are being
treated carelessly, burial sites are being built over,
and sacred lands are being taken out of our control. A
museum would help to keep intact some of these things
that are being lost due to carelessness and out and out
disrespect. We as a Moorish people need to have a place,
a shrine, if you will that can protect our culture and
heritage as well as educate our people and others. We
can always hold our heads high my brothers.
