“ Because the collection is so wide-ranging , there truly is something that will be of interest to everyone , across all age groups .”
The signed B . B . King guitar at the Copeland Museum is a favorite among music lovers .
One fateful Christmas in 1989 , Cheryl Copeland surprised her husband Roy Copeland with a pair of signed Muhammad Ali boxing gloves . That gift started a family tradition of curating meaningful artifacts that demonstrate the excellence , resiliency , and contributions of the Black community . After the Copeland ’ s children left home , they wanted the collection to go somewhere that would continue to foster the important conversations the pieces had prompted around their own dinner table .
Copeland ’ s family roots run many generations deep in Lowndes County , so they prioritized it staying here , even though museums and universities all over the state vied for his collection . Thus , the Copeland African American Museum was born , located at Thaxton Hall at Valdosta State University .
Dr . Amy Watson , Interim Director of the Copeland African American Museum , said the Copeland Museum is a rare collection for a university campus because of its reach across politics , music , sports , and science .
“ We are so proud that while it includes artifacts from very well-known people ( MLK , Jr ., Rosa Parks , Frederic Douglas ), it also highlights lesser-known people who made amazing contributions but have not received the recognition they deserve . Because the collection is so wide-ranging , there truly is something that will be of interest to everyone , across all age groups ,” she said .
Watson first became involved with the Copeland Museum during the Fall 2021 semester , when her marketing strategy class used the museum as the basis for their capstone project .
February 2023 | Valdosta Scene 33