February 24, 2011--Happy Birthday BDM!!

The Banneker-Douglass Museum of African American Life and History opened to the public on February 24, 1984. It was renamed the Banneker-Douglass Museum of African American History and Culture in 1993. Pictured in the photo from that day addressing the crowd, is Carroll Greene--the first person to hold the joint position of executive director of the MD Commission on African American History and Culture and museum director. Also pictured (second from left) is Senator Verda Freeman Welcome, the first African American woman to serve in the Maryland House of Delegates and the first to become a state senator in the United States. Senator Welcome introduced the bill creating the MD Commission on African American History and Culture (1969) and the BDM. It was through their hard work and the tireless efforts of many individuals, grassroots community groups, preservation organizations, the City of Annapolis, and our State, that the BDM came into being. Thank you all and happy 27^th BDM!

Badge of Honor

Louie McKinney, the first career deputy to be appointed the acting director of the United States Marshals Service, donated a copy of his memoir: One Marshal's Badge to the Sylvia Gaither Garrison Library at the Banneker-Douglass Museum.

Before serving as a special investigator for the FBI, McKinney served with distinction in the U.S. Marshals Service. He guarded John Hinckley, the man who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan. He, in addition, was a member of the Special Operations Group, a unit who is held in high esteem in the U.S. Marshals Service. Mr. McKinney has also worked with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

As with most men of distinction, Hollywood came calling. As a result, Chase, a television show which presents the work of a U.S. Marshal, employed McKinney as a consultant.

Pictured: Louie McKinney & Lynn Waller inside the Sylvia Gaither Garrison Library at the Banneker-Douglass Museum.