Several months ago, the Executive Director of the Historic Hosanna School Museum, Iris Barnes, invited me to serve on the board of the nonprofit. I had worked with the group on a Smithsonian oral history project as a pubic historian, so I was pleased to join this visionary organization.
Its mission is to share the rich heritage of our diverse society and foster an awareness that deepens understanding and appreciation of that diversity. Hosanna sponsors exhibits, speakers, displays and other events that portray the contributions made by African-Americans and a variety of ethnic groups, throughout the year.
The first public educational facility for African-Americans in Harford County, the Freedmen’s Bureau funded construction of the two-story frame building in 1867-68. It was used as a schoolhouse, a community meeting place, and a church. In 1879, the operation of the school was assumed by the Harford County School Commissioners. The Board of Education closed the doors in 1946, but two years later the Hosanna Community House, Inc. was created to a support a new use, an African-American community center. Hosanna was placed on the National Register in 1991.
