COVID-19 closes Sights and Sounds Black Cultural Museum in DeKalb County

Black museum forced to close

A Black museum in North DeKalb Mall is being forced to shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic.

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - The task of packing up tens of thousands of artifacts and relics is tough for 73-year-old James Horton. He created the Sights and Sounds Black Cultural Museum back home in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in 1979. After several moves over the decades, he settled down at North Dekalb Mall off Lawrenceville Highway in 2014. He never imagined the day he'd have to close the eclectic museum.

"It's difficult, I can say that. I don't want to use the term devastating, but it's a part of my life. It's something I've been doing since I was a child growing up," said Horton, whose great-great-grandmother first taught him about the importance of knowing African and African-American history as a boy growing up in Alabama.

Horton never charged an entry fee after. History, he said, doesn't come with a price tag and what was left in the donation box was always enough to keep the doors open. He had 100 or so visitors a day for years--even more during black history month.

"I had quite a few people that would come and visit. Schools were bringing people in. Churches were bringing people in and they were all so generous of their donations," Horton told FOX 5’s Portia Bruner as he packed boxes surrounding his wheelchair.

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Even more visitors arrived after FOX 5 News featured the museum during a Black History Month special in February 2020.

Black history museum

A hidden gem in metro Atlanta is a museum that celebrates the black experience.

"It was totally amazing to me how many people called and showed up," said Horton.

Then, COVID-19 showed up with a shelter-in-place order that brought mall traffic and just about everything else in the pandemic to a standstill.

"There was a number of people who had to call and cancel because of the virus. And that, more than anything else is what is causing me to pack up," Horton said.

Horton said he's one of several vendors in North DeKalb Mall who must close their doors for good by the end of the month.

"My concern is finding a permanent building for it. Something that can be permanent, so I don't have to be worried about what I'm going through now," the retired Morehouse College employee said Tuesday.

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Ironically, his collection continues to grow even without a home. A photograph of the late John Lewis's last trip to the Edmund Pettis Bridge was donated Tuesday morning--which is why the curator is determined to find a new place to share the sights and sounds of African American history.

It's so profound when people come from all over and tell you how much it means to see all of this and how much they appreciate it. It just made me realize you must have something special that needs to be preserved if people go all of their way to see it," Horton told Bruner.

If you'd like information on how to help re-open the Sights and Sounds Black Cultural Museum, call 404-454-1462 or email James_Horton35@yahoo.com.