June 10, 2013
The Greensboro Historical Museum has been awarded a grant from the Smithsonian Affiliates and the Asian Pacific American Center to implement the Young Historians, Living Histories (YHLH) collaborative educational program. The museum was one of nine affiliates across the country chosen to engage underserved youth in select Asian Pacific American (APA) communities.
This grant will fund the development of a multimedia program that will help high school-aged youth learn methods of oral history documentation, research and writing skills, along with video documentary and editing skills. The museum’s desired outcome is to encourage budding historians to explore, contextualize, and deepen their understanding of Asian Pacific American history and their expressive culture while learning to use new technologies, and most importantly, contribute to a dialogue in their local communities.
The museum intends to partner with high school students from the Montagnard community whose families arrived as refugees and immigrants from the Central Highlands of Vietnam. The Montagnards came to the U.S. in at least four waves of settlement since the mid-1980s. Today, with around 9,000 people, Greensboro has one of the largest Montagnard populations anywhere in the world outside of Vietnam. The museum will have the opportunity to help the Montagnard community share their stories and explore more deeply the impact of their cultural traditions and heritage upon Greensboro and the surrounding area.
The Greensboro Historical Museum, a member of the Smithsonian Institution Affiliation Program and accredited by the American Association of Museums, is open daily except Mondays and City of Greensboro holidays. There is no admission fee. For general visitor information, go to www.GreensboroHistory.org or call (336) 373-2043.
