African American accomplishments presented by Kinseys at MSU

Contact: Leah Barbour

STARKVILLE, Miss.--One day after The Kinsey Collection's "African American Treasures" opened in Mississippi State University's Mitchell Memorial Library, the owners of the collection of African American art, manuscripts and historical artifacts spoke on campus.

Bernard Kinsey, a former Xerox Corp. vice president; his wife Shirley, a former teacher; and their son Khalil, curator for the collection, presented "An Afternoon with Bernard and Shirley Kinsey and their son Khalil: What You Didn't Learn in High School History" in Bettersworth Auditorium at Lee Hall on Sunday [March 22].

The Kinsey Collection, one of the largest private exhibits of African American pieces, showcases American history through the stories of African American accomplishments and achievements, said Shirley Kinsey.

The collection opened in the MSU library's John Grisham Room on Saturday [March 21] and will be open through June 20. Visit lib.msstate.edu/Kinsey/ for hours and additional information.

"This collection has a heart that catches your heart and sometimes tugs at your heart… It has passion, perseverance and power," said Shirley Kinsey. "African American history is American history."

Khalil Kinsey said he feels incredibly proud to travel with the collection and share it around the world. Already, The Kinsey Collection has traveled to almost 20 major U.S. cities and been viewed by more than 4 million people at major venues, including Walt Disney World's Epcot Center and the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

"We want to change the dialog about race in America," said Bernard Kinsey. "Until we have an open and honest discussion … we're still going to be dealing with a lot of the issues that we've always been dealing with. We need this knowledge (about African American history)--and we need to share it--so we can move forward."

The interactive tour of the collection presented by Bernard Kinsey primarily featured artifacts on display at MSU. Highlights included a first edition of Phillis Wheatley's book of poems, prints of the first black members of Congress, Martin Luther King Jr. correspondence and copies of the Dred Scott and Brown v. Board of Education court decisions.

"The myth of absence says we are invisibly present," said Bernard Kinsey. "We're not part of the dialog in this country… African Americans have done so much that there's no way to know all the accomplishments by brothers and sisters. We should be talking about the things we've done and can do together as a people."

Bernard Kinsey's tour took attendees from the first Africans coming to America in the 16th century up through the civil rights movement of the 20th century.

"When you get new information, you change your mind," he said. "We love being here at Mississippi State."

MSU Libraries Dean Frances Coleman spearheaded the effort to bring the prestigious collection to MSU, agreed Bernard, Shirley and Khalil. The family, from Pacific Palisades, California, gave attendees personal tours of the collection following the Lee Hall presentation.

MSU, Mississippi's flagship research university, is online at www.msstate.edu, meridian.msstate.edu, facebook.com/msstate, instagram.com/msstate, pinteresat.com/msstate and twitter.com/msstate.