America I Am
Wal-Mart celebrates African Americans’ legacy through sponsorship of multi-sensory traveling exhibit 
Wal-Mart is proud to serve as the presenting sponsor of a one-of-a-kind museum exhibition, which will invite visitors of our nation’s museums to experience 400 years of African American struggles and triumphs. Featuring more than 150 extraordinary artifacts, photographs, music and videos, “America I AM: The African American Imprint” highlights how African people have shaped our lives, history and culture. The first phase of the project featured a traveling exhibit aimed at sharing the America I AM experience with local communities and Walmart customers across the nation. "The lessons and examples of this collection are more important, and more relevant, than ever,” said Bill Simon, chief operating officer of Wal-Mart Stores U. S. during the announcement of the America I Am partnership. “Only after looking back with honesty, can we as a country move forward with hope. And only by fully understanding the choices of the past can we make better choices for the future.”
Exhibit preview captures the imprint of Americans across the country
Bentonville, Arkansas Wal-Mart Home Office Stop In advance of the exhibit’s official debut at Philadelphia’s National Constitution Center Jan., 15, 2009, people in more than 40 communities nationwide were able to preview the exhibit through, “America I AM Across America” a smaller mobile version of the exhibition. The multi-sensory experiential “super truck” hit the road in July 2008, visiting African American museums, festivals, landmarks and schools. Thanks to a customized recording booth, visitors contributed their own video “imprints.” During the five month “super truck” tour, several Walmart stores across the country served as temporary hosts. To view pictures of the “American I Am Across America” experience, click here. The traveling continues 
Doug McDonald holds one of the first artifacts to be included in the exhibit, a vignetted portrait of Frederick Douglass. Left to right: Hank Mullany, Joe Torsella, Tavis Smiley, Doug McDonald, Mayor Michael Nutter of Philadelphia, andJohn Fleming. In May 2009, after the initial opening in Philadelphia, the exhibit embarks on a four-year journey to nine major museums, including stops in Chicago and Los Angeles, before reaching its permanent home at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. The everlasting impressions recorded through the on-site video “imprints” will grow the twelve-gallery exhibit into the largest recorded oral history project in U.S. history. The exhibit was developed in partnership with The Smiley Group and organized by Arts and Exhibitions International and Cincinnati Museum Center. To learn more about the America I Am exhibit, visit the website at http://www.americaiam.org/.
Another part of Wal-Mart’s commitment to diversity As a company that employs more than 237,000 African Americans, Wal-Mart forges partnerships with organizations such as the National Urban League, Thurgood Marshall College Fund and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, among many others. Moreover, more than 20 percent of all colleges and universities the company recruited from in fiscal year 2008 were minority-serving institutions; in fact, more than 5,400 Wal-Mart associates graduated from historically black colleges and universities.
|