Boeing Company announced a $500,000 donation to the International African American Museum during the 2015 Equal Opportunity Day Dinner hosted by the Columbia Urban League.
“Boeing is committed to supporting and giving back to the communities where our employees live and work,” said Tim Keating, Boeing’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs. “Through our investment in this important museum of African American history and identity, we at Boeing hope to play a key role in helping tell the story of the largely overlooked history of African Americans in the Charleston area.”
The Boeing charitable contribution to the museum is in addition to a $250,000 donation made in 2011 and will be used to support the creation of the Family Heritage Center associated with the International African American Museum in Charleston, S.C.
“This generous gift from Boeing takes us one step closer to the International African American Museum,” said Joseph Riley, Jr., mayor of Charleston. “Boeing is, again, a generous corporate neighbor, making sure that our community can share our rich and meaningful history with the people of the Lowcountry and the world.”
Beverly Wyse, Boeing South Carolina vice president and general manager, said, “The people of South Carolina have embraced us with open arms and we want to give back. This contribution is significant to the cultural development and historical preservation of this area. It is also yet another example of Boeing’s commitment to the local community, which includes support of institutions like Allen University in Columbia and the renovation of Chappelle Auditorium.”
The International African American Museum aims to re-center South Carolina’s place in global history, illuminating its role in the international slave trade and the Civil War. The museum will connect visitors to their ancestors, demonstrating how enslaved Africans and free blacks shaped economic, political, and cultural development in the nation and beyond.
Additionally, the Columbia Urban League honored Boeing with the distinguished “Virgil C. Summer Corporate Award” for achievement in demonstrating consistent promotion of equal opportunity and social justice. Boeing has invested more than $25 million in South Carolina non-profit organizations since 2010 and has volunteered approximately 7,000 times in more than 200 community projects.
“It is a privilege to be associated with the Urban League, which for more than a century has promoted financial stability and racial inclusion in our communities,” said Keating. “Receiving this award exemplifies Boeing’s commitment to diversity and inclusion in the workplace.”
Since 1967, the Columbia Urban League has served the Midlands with programs and initiatives aimed at helping African-Americans achieve economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights.