![\"Photographer](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Marilyn-and-Ella.jpg\")
<\/p>\nThe African American Museum, Dallas is taking spring cleaning to a new level with its facility improvements. The museum announced a temporary closure in March and now plans to reopen May 1 with two new exhibitions opening in May and June, People Who Make the World Go \u2018Round: The Legacy of Sepia Magazine and Mandela: The Official Exhibition.<\/p>\n
The Fair Park museum\u2019s updates include a range of routine facility improvements and restorations from floor repairs, auditorium renovations and painting to electrical work, HVAC and technology upgrades. The renovations aim to enhance the visitor experience, just in time for a busy summer schedule.<\/p>\n
The reopening coincides with the opening of a new special exhibition, People Who Make the World Go \u2018Round: The Legacy of Sepia Magazine, on view from May 1 to Aug. 11. The exhibition draws from the museum\u2019s\u00a0Sepia\u00a0photographic archive of more than 40,000 images, highlighting many of the 29th century\u2019s most influential Black icons such as Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Maya Angelou, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall.<\/p>\n
Published for nearly four decades,\u00a0Sepia\u00a0served as a powerful voice in Black journalism, chronicling political change, cultural\u00a0innovation\u00a0and everyday life in African American communities nationwide. During its peak,\u00a0Sepia\u00a0emerged as a national competitor to\u00a0Ebony\u00a0and\u00a0Jet\u00a0magazines, distinguished by its Southern perspective and editorial voice rooted in the American South.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tAfrican American Museum of DallasAfrican American Museum of Dallas<\/p>\n
Photographer Once Known, Ella Fitzgerald and Marilyn Monroe, n.d.; modern print on aluminum, 27 x 34 7\/16 inches; Courtesy of the Sepia Photographic Archive at the African American Museum of Dallas.<\/p>\n
The magazine was founded in Fort Worth in 1946 as\u00a0Negro Achievements\u00a0by clothing merchant Horace J. Blackwell. After Blackwell\u2019s death in 1949, publisher George Levitan purchased the publication and renamed it\u00a0Sepia\u00a0in 1950, continuing its publication until 1983.<\/p>\n
\u201cSepia was more than a magazine \u2013 it was a powerful platform that documented Black life with depth, nuance and pride,\u201d said Lisa Brown Ross, president and CEO of the African American Museum, Dallas. \u201cReopening with this exhibition allows us to share that legacy in a renewed space that enhances how these stories are experienced and preserved.\u201d<\/p>\n
Presented by\u00a0Exhibits USA, a program of Mid-America Arts Alliance, the exhibition is organized thematically and explores portraiture, fashion, global\u00a0politics\u00a0and the many individuals who helped shape American culture and Fsociety. Admission is free.<\/p>\n
Beginning June 13, the museum will present Mandela: The Official Exhibition, marking the exhibition\u2019s Texas debut. The exhibition\u00a0explores the life of one of the world\u2019s most recognizable champions of freedom and justice \u2013 whose vision of justice, service and reconciliation continues to inspire people around the globe. Presented in partnership with the City of Dallas, the exhibition will serve as both a cultural anchor and welcoming destination for international visitors during World Cup \u201cFan Fest\u201d activities at Fair Park and the Cotton Bowl Stadium.<\/p>\n
\u201cNelson Mandela devoted his life to justice and to the fight against apartheid, enduring 27 years in prison before becoming South Africa\u2019s first democratically elected president,\u201d Brown Ross said. \u201cThis exhibition tells the full arc of his life and affirms the Museum\u2019s role as a vital cultural destination for North Texas and for visitors from around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
The exhibition also highlights Mandela\u2019s ties to soccer as Dallas prepares to host nine World Cup matches. Mandela embraced the sport as a tool for unity and hope in post-apartheid South Africa. From organizing matches while imprisoned to championing the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Mandela demonstrated how soccer could bridge deep divisions. His appearance at the tournament\u2019s closing match, when he donned South Africa\u2019s national team jersey, became an enduring symbol of sport\u2019s power to unite a nation and inspire the world.<\/p>\n
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\t\t\t\t\tJim MarksJim Marks<\/p>\n
Part of the Freedom?, a gallery dedicated to the years of chaos leading up to the landmark \u201994 election. <\/p>\n
\u201cThat this exhibition coincides with the FIFA World Cup is especially meaningful,\u201d Brown Ross said. \u201cMandela believed deeply in the power of sport \u2013 particularly soccer \u2013 to bring people together knowing that shared humanity can transcend race, class and ideology.\u201d<\/p>\n
The exhibition, produced by Round Room Live in partnership with The Royal House of Mandela (RHoM) and RHoM Investments, will be on view through November 1 with free admission. The museum has also announced plans to extend Mandela\u2019s message beyond the galleries with a slate of education initiatives launching in January, giving students and educators an early introduction to Mandela as an \u201cicon of liberation and peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMandela received a Nobel Peace Prize for his role in ending apartheid peacefully. Through our programs, the Museum will encourage young people to explore Mandela\u2019s principles of service, integrity, compassion, family and leadership while connecting those ideals to their own lives. Youth will learn that greatness is tangible and complex,\u201d said Margie J. Reese, the museum\u2019s chief programs officer.<\/p>\n
Upon reopening, the museum will resume regular hours of Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m.\u20135 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m.\u20135 p.m. Special summer hours will be announced at a later date. Free parking is available in nearby lots.<\/p>\n