Museum receives Blue Star Museum Designation | News

The following is a press release from the African American History Museum:

For the third consecutive year, the African American Military History Museum has been recognized as a Blue Star Museum through a partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts, Blue Star Families, and more than 1,500 other museums across the country.

Blue Star Museums is a program that recognizes museums which offer free admission to all active duty military personnel and their families, and is made possible by Blue Star Families – an organization which raises awareness of the challenges and strengths of military family life.

“Here at the African American Military History Museum, we are proud to support active military personnel and their families, and we are dedicated to raising awareness of their sacrifice and service,” said Rick Taylor, Executive Director of the Hattiesburg Convention Commission. “We are pleased to once again partner with the National Endowment for the Arts and Blue Star Families to demonstrate our gratitude to our military men and women through participation in the Blue Stars Museums program.”

In 2011, the national program was a great success with 1,526 museums across the country welcoming more than 300,000 active duty military personnel and their families throughout the summer. The Blue Star Museums program runs from Memorial Day through Labor Day. A complete list of participating museums can be found at www.arts.gov/bluestarmuseums.

The African American Military History Museum is located at 305 East 6th St. in Downtown Hattiesburg and is opened Tuesday – Saturday 10 a.m.- 4 p.m.

The USO Club opened on March 22, 1942 and was constructed by community volunteers who invested more than 40,000 hours in the project. It is currently the only surviving USO built exclusively for African American soldiers and in 2003 was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. More than 150 years of African American military history is on display in the Museum. 

The African American Military History Museum is a Hattiesburg Convention Commission Facility. Since 1991, the Hattiesburg Convention Commission has been developing, operating and promoting tourism-related facilities for the Hattiesburg area. For more information, visit www.HattiesburgUso.com.