money Dr. Robert "Bert" Davis is leaving America's Black Holocaust Museum
America’s Black Holocaust Museum’s former director, Brad Pruitt, is stepping back into a leadership role as the museum’s president and CEO resigned this month citing family reasons.
Dr. Robert “Bert” Davis, who helmed the museum since 2019, has decided to leave the position for personal and family reasons, according to a statement released by the museum. Davis had already been on family leave for several weeks. Pruitt, who serves as the museum's executive consultant, will serve as interim executive, overseeing day-to-day operations of the nearly 34-year-old institution.
“On behalf of our board, staff, partners, and collaborators, we are grateful to Dr. Davis for his tenure and service,” Michelle Ford, chair of the Dr. James Cameron Legacy Board of Directors, said in the statement.
Davis has been credited with shepherding the museum through some challenges including its delayed opening. The museum was poised to reopen in 2020 as part of a $17.7 million redevelopment project, but the COVID-19 pandemic delayed those plans.
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The Bronzeville institution had already faced an uncertain future when its founder, Dr. James Cameron, died in 2006. It closed two years later.
Under Davis’ leadership, the museum reopened in February 2022 to much fanfare. Davis also contributed to the museum's long-term success by increasing membership, public engagement and securing a $10 million gift. The gift was made by an anonymous donor through the Greater Milwaukee Foundation. The funds will help to expand programming and to shore up the museum’s endowment.
During Davis’ tenure, the museum purchased a 19,000-square-foot building located kitty-corner to its current facility at 401 W. North Ave. The additional space will be used to house museum offices, classrooms, a small auditorium and onsite storage for its artifacts.
ABHM formed a partnership with the Milwaukee Public Museum to bring the Nelson Mandela exhibit to Milwaukee for its U.S. premiere.
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“Dr. Davis has provided inspiration in our community and has helped create a national presence for ABHM. We appreciate the contributions of Dr. Davis and wish him well in his future endeavors,” Ford said in the release.
Davis’ departure comes at a time when the museum is undergoing "organizational restructuring." The goal is to continue ABHM’s development from a local and regional cultural community cornerstone to a global leader in the arts, history and culture, the statement said.
Cameron is the only person known to have survived an attempted lynching. Cameron and two friends were arrested in 1930 in Marion, Indiana, for allegedly killing a white man during a robbery and raping his girlfriend.
Cameron recounted the incident in his book, "A Time of Terror: A Survivor's Story.”
He eventually settled in Milwaukee and dedicated his life to raising awareness about the Black experience in this country and beyond. He opened America’s Black Holocaust Museum as a storefront in 1988.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: America's Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee is losing its president/CEO
