New Exhibit at African American Cultural Center

October 1, 2018

The African American Cultural Center of Camden has opened a new exhibit that features the Campbell Street Corridor, Camden’s historic African American neighborhood.  The exhibit contains images and three-dimensional objects acquired by the Price House Commission and donated to the Archives and Museum in 2018.  Prominent in this collection are wonderful photographs from the William and Queenie Belton Boykin family.  William Boykin (1896-1956) was the grandson of Camden’s Rev. Monroe Boykin (1825-1904), the beloved first pastor of Mt. Moriah Baptist Church. William and his wife, Queenie (1898-1977), lived at 3037 Stewart Rd. in the Dusty Bend section of Camden.         

The photographs in the Boykin Collection date from the 1890s through the 1950s, based upon their style of dress and the type of photography.  Unfortunately, only three or four of the images are identified.  Even though we do not know exactly who is in every photograph, the majority are obviously family members.  The collection tells a picture story of a vibrant middle class African American family from Camden. Come take a peek at the photographs displayed in the exhibit – and the rest of the collection at the Archives and Museum – and let us know if you can identify them.  If our generation does not do this, the identity of these images will be lost to time.

The “Campbell Street Story” will run through March 15, 2019.  There is no admission charge at the African American Cultural Center or at the Camden Archives and Museum.  Come see us!