Community Reports – is the community reporting. See here for more.
The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in the “Community Reports” section of our blog belong solely to the individual authors, and not necessarily to Moderately MOCO, its editors, other contributors, or any affiliated entities or organizations.
Finding The Museum
Drive into the quaint village of Sandy Spring, Maryland from points west and you’ll see a fairly nondescript sign for a “Slave Museum” telling you to turn northwest on Brooke Rd.
Follow this road through some twists and turns and on your left, the “Sandy Spring Slave Museum and African Art Gallery” rises up in a cleared lot. Well, actually a model ship seemingly rises up from the ground, but the overall museum grounds are impossible to miss.
Museum Itself Is Open Limited Hours
The museum itself is only open for limited hours Saturday and Sunday, so your roving correspondent did not have chance to see the exhibits inside. That will come in a follow up review.
‘Visit Montgomery’ tourism describes the museum as: “an African art gallery that highlights the heritage of African American families in Montgomery County, the significant contributions that Africans Americans have made in building America, the struggle for civil rights, and more through an extensive collection of historical art and artifacts.” But, as we will see, the museum seems to deviate from highlighting only these things, and veers into local (recent) politics that don’t seem to overlap the Slave Museum’s mission.
Mannequins Missing Heads
Outside the museum, there’s still a lot “going on” and much to take in. Art and sculpture is everywhere, some of it weathered from the seasons. A few of the mannequins in the “slave ship middle passage” display were missing heads and features. Hopefully that can be revitalized.
A lot of important history about the Sandy Spring black foundational American community is documented on outdoor, weatherized poster displays. The scope of this historical capture is deep and important.
Tributes To Recent Politicians
Curiously, a section outside of the museum contains “odes” to political figures like (former) Congressman Elijah Cummings and current (but term limited, ending in 2022) Montgomery County Council Member Nancy Navarro. The plaque for CM Nancy Navarro was unveiled just this past June, at a Juneteenth celebration put on at the museum grounds. Your correspondent found it out of place among luminaries such as the honorable Marcus Garvey (whose home your correspondent had the pleasure of seeing in Ocho Rios, Jamaica).
But, according to local press, CM Navarro was involved with a prior MOCO college documentary on the foundation people of Sandy Spring. That seems praiseworthy, but perhaps in a different way and place. Also interesting, the commemorative plaque says nothing about this actual contribution to a documentary about the community.
Regardless of the oddly placed plaque or two, the Sandy Spring Slave Museum carries some rich history and is worth checking out if in the area. This correspondent plans to return in person to see the inside galleries and art, and provide some more review.
Greg – Roving Correspondent, Olney MD