Press Release
The International African American Museum has received a $500,000 pledge from Ingevity, the North Charleston, South Carolina-based specialty chemicals, high-performance activated carbon and engineered polymers company with a mission of enabling a more sustainable world. The donation will be gifted over a four-year period and will support the museum's operations, including its opening in late 2022.
“At Ingevity, we recognize the importance of taking an active role in addressing racial inequality, and we're thrilled to support a cultural destination devoted to honoring the untold stories of African Americans,” said Johnetta Greene, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at Ingevity. “Partnering with the International African American Museum aligns with our dedication to ensuring diverse, equitable and inclusive outcomes for our employees and the communities where we operate. We hope that equipping visitors with this unique educational experience will help promote cultural awareness, expand the perspective of visitors and lead to a better future for all.”
The museum's exhibitions will explore the African American journey, covering centuries of history. Galleries will be dedicated to the cultural, intellectual, and political diversity of West and West Central Africa, as well as the transformative and global impact of enslaved people who labored on plantations and celebrate cultures that were forged in the crucible of the antebellum South.
Dr. Tonya Matthews, CEO and president of the International African American Museum, commented, “Ingevity is playing a key role in making sure that visitors to the museum will be able to learn and engage with the rich and complex history of the African American journey. Through their investment, countless individuals will gain a better understanding of the people and the cultures that have contributed so much to our world. We're so grateful for their generosity and excited to be opening the museum late this year.”
Ingevity provides products and technologies that purify, protect and enhance the world around us. Through a team of talented and experienced people, they develop, manufacture and bring to market solutions that help customers solve complex problems and make the world more sustainable. The company operates in two reporting segments: Performance Chemicals, which includes specialty chemicals and engineered polymers, and Performance Materials, which includes high-performance activated carbon. These products are used in a variety of demanding applications, including asphalt paving, oil exploration and production, agrochemicals, adhesives, lubricants, publication inks, coatings, elastomers, bioplastics and automotive components that reduce gasoline vapor emissions. Headquartered in North Charleston, South Carolina, Ingevity operates from 25 locations around the world and employs approximately 1,850 people. Ingevity is traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE:NGVT). For more information visit www.ingevity.com.
The International African American Museum (IAAM) explores cultures and knowledge systems retained and adapted by Africans in the Americas and the diverse journeys and achievements of these individuals and their descendants in South Carolina, the United States, and throughout the African Diaspora. IAAM is a champion of authentic, empathetic storytelling of American history and is thus one of the nation's newest platforms for the disruption of institutionalized racism as it evolves today. Set to open in late 2022, IAAM is positioned to honor the untold stories of the African American journey from Charleston, S.C., at the historically sacred site of Gadsden's Wharf and beyond. For more information, please visit iaamuseum.org or call 843-872-5352.
