On September 20, The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center opened in Little Rock, Ark. The museum, dedicated to telling the story of African American life and business from 1870 to the present, opened on the site of the headquarters of the Mosaic Templars of America, a fraternal organization founded in 1883 by J.E. Bush and C.W. Keets, two former slaves. The organization was established to help offer insurance to the black community during a time when few basic services were available to them due to segregation. From there, the organization evolved into a building and loan association, publishing company, business college, nursing school and hospital.
The museum is the first state-funded museum in Arkansas to be dedicated to African American heritage. The center features 8,000 sq.ft of interactive exhibits on topics such as: the Mosaic Templars, the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame, the life and works of sculptor Isaac Scott Hathaway, and Little Rock’s Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. The third floor of the museum is a large auditorium, designed to host public forums, conferences and performing arts events.
The museum had previously been scheduled to open in 2006 in the original Mosaic Templars of America Headquarters in downtown Little Rock. However during the renovation process in 2005, the nearly 100-year-old building burned down. Since the fire, construction crews have been working tirelessly to rebuild the historic building. The façade of the new structure was designed to look like the original building, while the interior was completely redesigned in order to house the interactive exhibits. The cornerstone and original entry were saved from the fire and have been incorporated into the new building.
