Today we’d like to introduce you to Adam Velk.
Hi Adam, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I became a history nerd in my undergraduate program at the University of Hartford. I had a real fondness for Civil Rights history in particular. There are only a few options for a career in history and museum work appealed to me the most. I started by interning at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago. Eventually I went to the University of Illinois-Springfield to get my graduate degree in public history. From there I started working for the National Park Service; first at Lincoln Home National Historic Site with stops at the White House and Padre Island National Seashore. After spending a few years in the NPS, I sought out other opportunities and came across the Green McAdoo Cultural Center here in Clinton, TN. I had always hoped to turn my interest of Civil Rights history into a career and this museum ended up being the perfect spot to do that. I’ve been here for a little over four and a half years.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Oh gosh, no. There have been plenty of struggles along the way. This is a very competitive field. In graduate school, a professor of mine told us that in a classroom of about 20 students, roughly 2-3 of us would continue doing history work once we graduated. To pursue this career, a person has to be incredibly flexible. You have to be able to move to where jobs are open, and that’s after you send 100 applications to employers. Especially early on, you miss most, if not all weekends because you’re working. The pay is fairly low in comparison to other career paths. It’s definitely a career where you have to do a lot of work on the front end and sacrifice quite a bit to make a living. That means taking non-paying internships or volunteer gigs. But the payoff in the end is you get to learn about and educate people on history.
We’ve been impressed with Green McAdoo Cultural Center, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I am impossibly proud of the Green McAdoo Cultural Center. Our entire center is devote to telling the story of the Clinton 12. These were the first students to desegregate a school by court order in the American South. This took place in 1956, just two years after the Brown vs. Board decision in the Supreme Court. In essence, we talk about how people responded in a post separate-but-equal America. Clinton was a microcosm of what was happening across the country. On one hand, you see some of the most unsavory parts of our society- those rooted in hatred and racism. On the other hand, you can be inspired by the efforts of the Clinton 12 and their allies in town. It’s an emotional history that forces you to ask difficult questions of yourself.
The piece that I am most proud of at the Green McAdoo Cultural Center is we tell you the full story. Often times, I really believe that a lot of museums sanitize their history to appeal to the public or their donors. They believe in pushing a narrative above all else, and any information that goes against that narrative is often omitted. We proudly refuse to do that. It’s important to tell the entire story. It’s more important for our museum to give you as much information as possible and allow you to interpret what it means than it is to force feed you preconceived ideas.
Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
One of the best things you can be in this life is wrong. A lot of people have an adversity to being wrong and often get defensive when they are. Being wrong about anything is a gift. It’s more knowledge that helps shape who you are. I tell young historians all the time if you find evidence that goes against thesis statement, then you have to change the thesis. It’s okay, I promise. When you change the narrative to reflect the facts, it ends up telling a more interesting and compelling story. I think the same is true for people. When you are open to the idea that you could be wrong, you end up being a more complete person because of it.
Pricing:
- Green McAdoo Cultural Center is free to attend Tuesday-Saturday from 10AM-5PM
Contact Info:
- Website: https://greenmcadooculturalcenter.org
- Instagram: @greenmcadooculturalcenter
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/greenmcadoo
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adamvelk
