Member Hailed for Co-Founding Historic Museum
Cultural icon celebrates decade of preserving history
Barbara Seals Nevergold, a member of Xi Epsilon Omega Chapter of Amherst, NY, is being hailed for her leadership role in recording the lives of hundreds of African American men and women in Western New York and in the state of Oklahoma. This has been achieved through the founding of the Uncrowned Queens Institute for Research & Education on Women, Inc., which she co-founded with Dr. Peggy Brooks-Bertram, in 1999. Its mission is to collect, preserve and share the biographic histories of African American women and men community builders.
Many of these individuals, while instrumental in the development of the community, are not well known. Without the Institute and Dr. Nevergold and Dr. Brooks-Bertram's tireless efforts, their stories would have never been chronicled.
Starting as a tiny collection in 1999, the duo now stewards a digital library of hundreds. As an extension of their efforts, they have written four books in the Uncrowned Queens series and plan to write an Uncrowned Kings volume to be released in 2009 to commemorate their decade of service.
In recognition of their decade of showcasing and chronicling the lives of prominent African Americans, Nevergold was recently profiled in Western New York Heritage Magazine. She was saluted for her innovation, drive and commitment to putting a spotlight on the lives of African American achievement.
In the spirit of service that lies at the heart of Alpha Kappa Alpha's mission, Dr. Nevergold is continuing to seek out new venues to showcase African Americans whose stories deserve to be told.