HAMMOND — The Tangipahoa African American Heritage Museum serves as a gateway to black history.

The museum is not only a place where you learn about history, but it's part of history itself. The museum's community outreach director, Millard McElwee, said it was once Mooney Avenue Elementary School, one of the few schools black children were able to attend.

He said the museum was established in 2007, but its roots trace back to the parish’s Black Heritage Festivals in the 80s.

Observers can learn about local history that made a national impact, like the 1967 March from Bogalusa to Baton Rouge.

“This march was to highlight the injustices that were going on that people were experiencing in terms of blatant racism and lack of equal rights,” McElwee said.

In the museum, there’s a space showcasing local black leaders who paved the way for change, like having the first African American superintendent of Tangipahoa School Systems.

“Even the time it took to get to that one, these are questions we should be having conversations about," McElwee said. "Not just dismissing them as DEI and having the relevance, but really understanding why aren’t African Americans showing up or why aren’t their voices represented proportionate to the population.”

McElwee said the museum goes beyond local history highlighting black inventors, the struggles of chattel slavery, and even life before Africans were enslaved in the colonies.

McElwee said the goal is for people to leave with a different state of mind.

“Just knowing that history, knowing the impact it had on medicine, and advancements of technology, then you can make more informed decisions about things that are really best for you rather than just buying into the masses,” McElwee said.