FAMU Alums Bernard and Shirley Kinsey’s exhibition, “The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey — Where Art and History Intersect” will be on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, on the National Mall in Washington, DC. The exhibition started Friday, October 15 and will end May 1, 2011.The Kinseys also will be featured on the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric tonight, Tuesday, October 19, at 6:30 p.m.
“The Kinsey Collection has traveled to six cities sharing and revealing the wonderful stories of accomplishment and triumph of our ancestors,” said Bernard Kinsey. “We are privileged to be able to bring our ancestors’ stories to life and give our ancestors a voice, a name and a personality. We are honored to share the Kinsey Collection with the expected 2.5 million people that will see the exhibition at the Smithsonian American History Museum.”
According to Kinsey, the Kinsey Collection is one of the few privately held collections to be shown at the Smithsonian.
“It is unique because of its comprehensive approach to telling the story of the African-American experience through art, books, historical documents and ephemera,” Kinsey said.
The Kinsey Collection contains more than 100 original and authentic historical artifacts, documents and works of art that tell a story of the African-American experience from the 1600s to the present. The collection and companion 180-page coffee table book has been recognized to be of great cultural significance and was recently adopted by the Florida Department of Education as part of their statewide African-American history curriculum for grades K -12.
The couple has raised millions of dollars for more than 150 scholarships for college bound graduates. Through his leadership, the Southern California Alumni Chapter of the FAMU National Alumni Association has raised more than $900,000 for scholarships for 115 students from Los Angeles to attend FAMU.
Bernard Kinsey has served as past president of the FAMU-NAA. The Kinseys have personally contributed more than $350,000 in grants and gifts to FAMU. They reside in Pacific Palisades, Calif., and are the proud parents of one son, Khalil.