When I moved to Iowa City 25 years ago, one of the first things I did to familiarize myself with my new surroundings was visit the African American Museum of Iowa (AAMI) in Cedar Rapids. I only had two pieces of Black Iowa history under my belt: Lametta Wynn was the first Black mayor of a city in Iowa, and T-Boz of the pop trio TLC was born in Des Moines. By the time I left AAMI, I was a lot more cultured.
Since its opening in 1993, AAMI has served as one of the few institutions commemorating and celebrating Black life in Iowa. They present a Juneteenth Festival every summer, a History Makers Gala every fall, and programs throughout the year to complement their permanent and rotating exhibitions on the Underground Railroad, the civil rights movement, Black businesses, contemporary protest art and more.
In recent years, AAMI has undergone some significant shifts in leadership and funding. I had an opportunity to speak with its current executive director Jacqueline Hunter about that and more, including her own background.
“My museum journey started at the library,” the Florida native said, warming my librarian-writer heart. Hunter’s father was a librarian for three decades, which instilled in her the importance of archiving stories from an early age.
During her undergraduate years at Bethune-Cookman University (a historically Black college/university, or HBCU), she came across the book she says changed her life: We Are Not Afraid by Phillip Dray, detailing the abduction and murders of three civil rights activists during the Freedom Summer of 1964. Learning about one of the most gruesome chapters of racial division in American history gave Hunter clarity on her life’s mission after college.
Education was Hunter’s first professional stop. She began as a recreation director for the City of Kissimmee in Florida, launching a college prep program for first-gen students. In 2018, Hunter landed in Iowa when she was hired as the director of the Multicultural Family Center in Dubuque. Her six years of dedicated work in that position led to her current role as AAMI’s executive director, which she assumed in August 2024.
Hunter arrived prepared for the responsibility of leading Iowa’s lone mecca of African American history. “The State of Iowa realizes what it would look like if AAMI wasn’t here,” she contends. But, “We can’t rely on corporate dollars anymore.”
Cuts to federal programs ordered by the Trump administration have left many GLAM institutions (galleries, libraries, archives and museums) with slashed budgets and closed doors. National parks, museums and websites have been scrubbed of history the administration doesn’t like, including history made by non-white war heroes and transgender activists; atrocities against Native Americans and enslaved people; and murals painted to commemorate Black Lives Matter and LGBTQ+ Pride.
Hunter holds faith that the eastern Iowa community will keep AAMI thriving.
“Black institutions historically have done a lot with very little,” she said. “We are revisiting expectations of our board — our main cheerleaders.”
AAMI keeps the community engaged with timely, thought-provoking exhibitions such as the recent “Racist Things,” which examines racist branding in once-common household items — “Even to this day, many Americans don’t perceive the imagery of lawn jockeys or Aunt Jemima as racist,” Hunter said with a shrug — and “Cultural Impacts,” highlighting depictions of African Americans in advertising.
Another just opened on Oct. 17 and runs through August 2026; “Rooted: Labor, Land, and Legacy” looks at agriculture as a means of self-determination for Black Iowans. The description reads, “Visitors will learn how Black farmers, nationwide and in Iowa, are turning to agriculture as a way to reclaim land, promote sustainability, and address environmental and economic inequalities.”
As it runs, Hunter and the rest of the AAMI staff plan to keep busy developing outreach efforts, new exhibitions, film screenings and community partnerships, along with their regular flow of tour groups, field trips and events.
“We are the state museum of African American history,” Hunter said. “And we’ll continue to make our community proud.”
This article was originally published in Little Village’s November 2025 issue.
