![Dr. Joanne Martin [center] proudly holds a check that will allow the museum to improve its safety accessibility and visual impact. She is surrounded by elected officials who helped secure the funding.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/1cf8109/2147483647/strip/true/crop/4032x2483+0+270/resize/880x542!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2F48%2F94%2Fb7e9569642b7aca711e8bf3b93b3%2Fimg-6034.jpg)
In 1980, a Baltimore couple purchased wax figures with money saved for a downpayment. Dr. Elmer and Joanne Martin took their figures on the road, setting up exhibits at schools, churches and malls. Eight years later, they opened what is now the National Great Blacks in Wax Museum in East Baltimore.
On Friday, federal, state and local elected officials joined Dr. Martin to celebrate over $2 million in federal funding. That funding will help the 10,000-square-foot space expand to 25,000 square feet, Dr. Martin said.
The museum preserves and presents the history of African Americans from all walks of life. Notables include Maryland luminaries and other public figures such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and former President Barack Obama.
Dr. Martin, the museum's co-founder, said she was inspired to create the museum, after hearing a Black boy say he did not want to be in a picture because he was “too dark.”
“With those wax figures, we can say from the darkest to the lightest and everything in between, ‘this is who you are,’” Martin said. “We need you to embrace that because your ancestors have fought for you to have the right to do so.”
U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, said the museum has grown into an institution marking the cultural identity of all Americans.
“This chronicles the history of a race of people who have suffered, endured and survived three centuries of slavery, oppression, deprivation, degradation, denial and disprivilege. It is a history worth embracing,” Mfume said.
The museum attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.
U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who represents Maryland, said the congressional funding will improve the museum’s reach.
“[This] already brings children and tourists from around the country who want to see history made more real,” Van Hollen said. “By moving this project forward, we're gonna make sure that you can continue to attract more and more people.”
In an interview with WYPR, Dr. Martin said for its next phase, the museum needs $17 million for infrastructure upgrades and educational programming.
“We’re halfway there,” she said. “But we live to fight another day.”
