History is a living experience at Domini Hoskins Black History Museum

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Speak for just a few minutes with Carolyn Hoskins, founder and curator of the Domini Hoskins Black History Museum and Learning Center, and it becomes clear that history is not a static thing at this history museum, nor is it even strictly about the past, but a living, ever-emerging experience.

When this publication visited last week, she talked about how students from Menlo Park’s Oak Knoll Elementary School were at the museum the previous day to celebrate civil rights activist Rosa Parks on Transit Equity Day (Feb. 4). About 50 students from the school came for the unveiling of a SamTrans bus wrapped with a decorative design celebrating Black History Month.

“I told them that they were going to make history, because nobody has seen the bus, so we were the first ones to get the opportunity to see the bus. They got their picture taken, and they got an opportunity to walk inside the bus. So I told them, ‘Now you’ve made history. Look back and years from now, when people talk about that bus, you can say you were the first one to see it,'” Carolyn Hoskins said.

The museum is a still-growing project that has filled a 22,000-square-foot storefront with memorabilia, artifacts, books, photos and collectibles highlighting many different aspects of Black history in the United States.

“What we try to do is to break everything down into different categories. And so, of course, you know, African Americans excel in so many different forms, and we wanted to be able to educate people to know that we do other things besides entertainment and sports — nothing is wrong with that — you have some of the greatest entertainers and the greatest people of color in sports. But the history is about more than that,” Carolyn Hoskins said.

An expanse of tables display objects organized by categories. The inventions section features items created or improved upon by Black inventors across a couple centuries, whether it’s a sugar refining process or a train alarm system from the 19th century or items from the latter half of the 20th century, such as the first home security system or ranch dressing. 

Other sections highlight famous figures, important facts and memorabilia across a diverse set of subjects, including politics, voting, civil rights, cowboys and the American West, science, space, holidays, toys and food. There are also sports and entertainment sections, where the famous figures include locally based luminaries such as Steph Curry.

The museum puts African American history front and center  — history that has often been overlooked or deliberately obscured, Carolyn Hoskins noted — while keeping a focus on the future, too. “Hand down the history” is a phrase visitors will see on signs in a number of the displays.

Though the museum has a large number of exhibits celebrating achievements and cultural contributions, it also has displays about the violence and discrimination that African Americans have faced both historically, from slavery, Jim Crow laws, the Tulsa race massacre and the murder of Emmett Till, to more recent events, such as the murders of George Floyd and Trayvon Martin.

Two years ago, state Sen. Josh Becker presented the museum with a $2 million check from the state to help it establish a permanent space. Now a year into the museum’s tenure in the large corner space at Jefferson Avenue and Middlefield Road in downtown Redwood City, Carolyn Hoskins and her grandson, Domini Hoskins, for whom the museum is named, have been able to keep growing its collection and welcome many more visitors. 

“Having a permanent home gives you an opportunity to work within the community, also to be able to really focus on — and which Domini is really focusing on with his children — is the Learning Center. It’s so important to be able to teach our young people about the history,” Carolyn Hoskins said.

The museum began almost 30 years ago as a traveling exhibit, after Domini Hoskins, who was then around 5 years old, asked his grandmother why he hadn’t learned about any other famous African Americans besides Martin Luther King. Jr. Carolyn Hoskins began collecting artifacts and information to give him and his peers a fuller picture of Black history. She would also visit Domini’s school in Belmont to share the project and bring home-cooked soul food to the students, he recalled.

“She’s been making an impact for a long time, even on a smaller scale. With what it’s grown into now, I have people that I went to school with coming in with their own kids, and they’re blown away,” Domini Hoskins said.

Prior to the museum having a permanent space, it would operate as a pop-up, with the family packing and unpacking exhibits to be displayed for short periods of time.

“That was the constant for a long time. You know, the county fairs and stuff like that, really short-time things. We’re appreciative of being able to do what we could during that time. This is where you can really learn and grow,” Domini Hoskins said.

Now he is getting his own children involved in the museum, as well. He said that there are plans for an area that will have snacks and merch, and he and his son and daughter are working on a comic book to appeal to young visitors.

“Having my kids be able to see all these historical figures kind of sets them back on track to where (they can) admire people that really have made an impact and not made a YouTube video or something,” Domini Hoskins said.

With a permanent space, the museum has also had a chance to welcome more students from area schools, including a class that comes in for monthly visits and talks.

“Part of what we work with is having different people come in to talk to (students) about different things, especially things that are happening in the world today. It’s so important for people to really understand that you have an administration that is saying that our history is not important,” Carolyn Hoskins said. “You have an administration that is banning books and trying to tell you what you can or cannot read, but it all stems back to education, and the people that are making these statements are uneducated. They have no clue about our rich history.”

For Black History Month, the museum is planning activities for President’s Day as well as a day honoring civil rights activist and congressman John Lewis. Looking ahead to March, the museum will be marking Women’s History Month with activities and displays.

“Last year, San Mateo and Foster City School District brought in over 1,000 students, and out of those 1,000 students, it was less than 100 African American students. But what we say is so important is that the history is not just Black history, it’s world history,” Carolyn Hoskins said.

Domini Hoskins Black History Museum and Learning Center is open Tuesdays-Saturdays, noon-6 p.m. and Sundays, noon- 5 p.m. at 890 Jefferson Ave., Redwood City. Admission is $15 adults; $10 seniors 65+; $5 children 5-17; free to children under 5. hoskinsblackhistorymuseum.org.

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