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The Black History 101 Mobile Museum visits UNC Asheville

A campus-wide collaboration helps the University celebrate Black History Month

By UNC Asheville

February 15^th, 2024

Listen to the songs of the exhibit while you read.

A campus-wide collaboration between UNC Asheville Office of Multicultural Affairs, Athletics, Key Center for Community Engaged Learning, and Asheville Campus Entertainment (ACE) brought the The Black History 101 Mobile Museum to UNC Asheville on Monday to help the campus community celebrate Black History Month.

“One of the things that people appreciate is that I don't hold back on the history. I'm very honest about the history. And that's one thing that hip hop culture demands from us is for us to be honest about what's going on,” said El-Hakim. “You got to keep it real. And that's what we do with this museum.”

The Black History 101 Mobile Museum visits UNC Asheville

The museum’s founder Khalid el-Hakim, a visionary educator and scholar, brought over 100,000 original artifacts documenting Black History from the painful era of the trans-Atlantic slave trade to the vibrant culture of hip-hop to the Highsmith Union Blue Ridge Room. At noon, El-Hakim gave a lecture diving deeper into Black history.

“Events like this help showcase the true history, especially when there are conscious efforts to remove some of that. I’m glad we can continue to have this here to educate on the true history,” said Carlton Smith, director of multicultural affairs. “I love the theme, which was music in the movement. This showed how the fight and advocacy wasn’t silent.”

The Black History 101 Mobile Museum visits UNC Asheville

The Black History 101 Mobile Museum visits UNC Asheville

The Black History 101 Mobile Museum visits UNC Asheville

The Black History 101 Mobile Museum visits UNC Asheville

In 25 years, El-Hakim has curated the premier traveling exhibition of Black history in the nation, bringing “ourstory” to 43 states and more than 1,000 institutions. His exhibits have touched the lives of countless individuals across diverse settings, including educational institutions from K-12 schools to colleges, corporate spaces, conferences, libraries, museums, festivals, places of worship, and cultural events.

The Black History 101 Mobile Museum visits UNC Asheville

The Black History 101 Mobile Museum visits UNC Asheville

The Black History 101 Mobile Museum visits UNC Asheville

The Black History 101 Mobile Museum visits UNC Asheville

As students entered the exhibit, they were met with letters signed by W.E.B Dubois, Harry Belafonte and Jackie Robinson. Sly and the Family Stone played while students explored the stories of Aretha Franklin, Muhammad Ali, Nina Simone, James Brown, Bob Marley, and more.

The Black History 101 Mobile Museum visits UNC Asheville

As UNC Asheville honors Black History Month, the University acknowledges that it does not start or end with a month-long celebration, but this is year-round. UNC Asheville strives to be an inclusive campus environment.

Footnotes

by Addison Wright ‘24

FootNotes

by Addison Wright ‘24

© 2026 UNC Asheville

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