Foot Soldiers Park at the 2026 AAAM Conference

By James Sutton, Director of Operations

Members of the Foot Soldiers Park team including myself, Carey Fountain, Director of Programs and Partnerships, and Jasmyn Bowie, Program Coordinator recently attended the 48th annual Association of African American Museums (AAAM) conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The annual gathering was themed “This Land Holds Our Stories: Celebrating America 250, and 100 Years of Negro History Week–We’re Still Making America Whole.” Museum professionals, cultural institutions, historians, and community leaders joined from across the country to exchange ideas and explore the future of preserving and sharing African American history.

We enjoyed a powerful conversation between distinguished author and university professor of African American and Diaspora Studies Michael Eric Dyson and African American Museum in Philadelphia President and CEO Ashley Jordan about the urgent need to keep Black history present and protected. 

An inspiring panel of Black women in the arts, including Kinshasha Holman Conwill, founding Deputy Director Emerita of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Joy Austin, philanthropist and CEO of Joy Ford-Austin Arts and Humanitarian Advocacy, Amina Dickerson of Dickerson Global Advisors, Christy Coleman of Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation, and poet Jessica Care Moore discussed the impact of Black women leadership in the museum field.  

Throughout the conference, our team participated in sessions that closely connect to our historic preservation work at Foot Soldiers Park. Conversations around leadership and organizational sustainability reinforced the importance of building strong institutions that can honor history while remaining responsive to the current needs of the communities they serve.

Sessions exploring artificial intelligence and emerging technology offered new perspectives on how museums can use digital tools to preserve Black history, expand access to collections and stories, and engage future generations in meaningful ways. This is especially meaningful to us as we continue to capture the stories and experiences of 1965 foot soldiers before they are gone.

We also gained valuable confirmation of our approach to tourism, visitor experience, and interpretation. Sessions emphasized that a powerful visitor experience goes beyond simply sharing information—it requires thoughtful storytelling, meaningful engagement, and an intentional connection between history, place, and people. 

Finally, discussions around hospitality and relationship-building highlighted the importance of creating spaces where visitors feel welcomed and want to return. These lessons are especially relevant as Foot Soldiers Park continues developing an experience that welcomes people from Selma, across Alabama, and around the world.

The AAAM conference provided both practical ideas and renewed inspiration for our work. We look forward to applying what we learned as Foot Soldiers Park continues building a place where the stories of Selma’s Foot Soldiers are preserved, experienced, and carried forward by future generations.