Meet Jacqueline Hunter, the new executive director of the African American Museum of Iowa
In February, the African American Museum of Iowa named Jacqueline Hunter as its new executive director.
Hunter joined the museum in August 2024 as museum educator with vast experience in education and history. She began her career as a recreation director in central Florida before going into teaching. She began a pre-college program working with first-generation students, helping them navigate the college process.
“I started literally doing it out of the trunk of my car. When I’d get off work, I would go around to communities and make myself available to help children navigate the college process. My husband and I took kids to school, we bought books, we bought dorm supplies, and we really just did what we could to support kids in their first year,” she said.
This work brought her to the Midwest when she became a pre-college coordinator with the University of Wisconsin system before eventually accepting a job as executive director at the Multicultural Family Center in Dubuque.
She officially began her new role with AAMI on March 3.
Fearless sat down with Hunter to learn more about her experience and her plans for the future of the museum. Her answers have been lightly edited for clarity and brevity.
Can you tell me about your background and what led you to museum and education work?
The AAMI was near and dear to me. It was one of the first places I went to when I moved to Iowa. I was looking for familiarity. African American history has always been important to me. So I applied for the museum educator position. I absolutely loved that role. Applying for the executive director role wasn’t really something I had considered, but as I looked at all the programs I had implemented since August, I didn’t want to lose that momentum. I said in the application that I believe that I prepared my entire life for this opportunity.
What inspires you to do this work?
I’m self-taught in African American history. One time, I went to visit my dad, who was a librarian, and there was a book on the shelf called “We Are Not Afraid.” It was about three civil rights workers killed in Mississippi. That book changed my life. I remember reading it and thinking I didn’t know anything. I didn’t know any part of Black history. I binge-read everything.
My life’s work has been with young people. They are the driver for my life. I feel like we have missed opportunities to empower their voices. I have a nonprofit here in Dubuque called Oh Happy Play. We collect unwanted toys and give those toys out for free to people in the community. Everything I do comes back to young people. I want to empower them. I want them to know their history, because knowing my history has allowed me to navigate some really dark spaces in dark times in the world. I say all the time: Children can’t be what they can’t see, and so when they walk into that building, I feel I have a responsibility to let them know that this could be you one day.
What programs have you been able to implement at AAMI so far?
One is called Coffee and Conversations. We get together over coffee and we talk about the exhibits. We talk about things that are happening in the world and how they connect to moments that we share in the exhibit.
I also teach history with American Girl dolls. I can’t tell you the excitement that has come from that. We get to, in this informal way, teach history in a way that maybe isn’t so heavy and that they can understand.
We recently began a program called “Not a Monolith.” This is done from this premise that when we tell the Black story, it’s often a story of tragedy. But in the midst of all that, Black people find joy in myriad things. The first one in January, we did anime and cosplay.
What made you take the leap from museum educator to executive director?
The leap, for me, wasn’t difficult. You lead an institution in the way that you think best benefits the community. I am community-driven. I am solution-driven. My work is always going to be geared at: How am I leaving a place better than I found it? My predecessor, LaNisha Cassell, was amazing. I want to, in the spirit of her work, in the spirit of our founders, to be able to continue that. Sometimes, our work at African American museums really does go beyond the norm. We’re trying to bridge conversations with the greater population and preserve the history for the next generation. But we also become spaces of community. You’re not going to feel bad when you walk out of the museum. You’re going to see the resilience, the power, the triumph in that. You’re going to see these interracial coalitions working together.
What are your goals in your new leadership position?
Definitely to increase the number of people coming to the museum. We are the state museum of African American history, so I want to see the greater Iowa community be willing to make the trek to Cedar Rapids. I also want to get out to more of Iowa so that I’m traveling outside of the museum as well. I want to get to Sioux City and Des Moines and some of the far-reaching areas so that if they can’t come to us, we can come to them and bring the important contributions of Iowa and African Americans.
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