With Ruth Ann Butler History Runs Deep
To know Ruth Ann Butler is to confront stark reality. If candor is the trademark of a good historian, then she owned it in spades.
Little wonder that she left teaching and founded The Cultural Exchange Center in 1987. It became her mission in life.
Although she had a degree in history from Benedict College, she had no formal education for being a curator of a museum. Jaw set on success, she leaned on the job, one difficult lesson at a time.
Museums must follow state, federal and sometimes international laws. Legal issues that confront museums include non-profit, business, contract, tax, property, intellectual property, employment, insurance, art and cultural heritage law and a host of other laws.
As the child of a Baptist minister, Ruth Ann Butler grew up believing God had a plan for her. It was revealed in 1985, after she visited an African-American museum in Tennessee. Butler, then a history teacher, almost immediately began preserving the history of African Americans in her hometown of Greenville, SC. Convinced of her calling, Butler gave up a teaching career, sketched out a plan and cobbled together $10,000 from local government to start what would become the Greenville Cultural Exchange Center.
In time, the Center was renovated. Nestled in a historic downtown sector, the Center features an extensive catalogue of artifacts, oral histories and records for African Americans who want to search their family histories. The Center is the ultimate labor of love for Butler, who has traced her own history back to slavery. But maintaining the Center has been a formidable challenge from the start. Initially, growth was slow and financial support was erratic. Then came news that threatened the Center’s survival. In 2001, Butler learned the City of Greenville was going to condemn the Cultural Exchange Center’s building due to its dilapidated condition. Bringing the Center up to code would cost tens of thousands of dollars. At the time, Butler had seen public support of the Center dwindle. She barely collected enough to keep the doors open, she said. In retrospect, Butler calls that crises a blessing in disguise.
Butler had founded the Center on a shoestring. Unshakable she pressed forward. She was agile enough to learn how to raise funds, organize a cadre of supporters, and manage one crisis after another. Fired by chaos, she learned how to make long-range plans to avert future crises.
The Greenville community rallied behind Butler, raising $70,000. It was enough to renovate the building.
The Cultural Exchange Center includes a research library for visiting scholars, students and the general public. There is also a resource center that displays the achievements of local African Americans dating back to the late 1900’s. The Center has biographical sketches, including a piece by local writer Charles Reams, publisher of WhatsUpNews.online, news articles, tape recordings, photographs and letters of prominent African-Americans. An increasing number of African Americans are taking an interest in genealogy and history. Since there are few records to document the births and deaths of African Americans, the story of the African American experience is still mostly verbal. Butler’s goal is for the Center to furnish written documentation so it can live on.
Jesse Jackson memorabilia is instructive and inspiring for young and old to view. This Victorian-style showpiece will now have more robust financing than ever.
Dr. Gayle Awan, president of the Urban League, calls the Center a “gem in our own backyard.”
James Jordon, President of Jordan Construction Company, offers his financial support and business acumen for the benefit of the Center.
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