BELMONT (KPIX 5) — A Belmont woman has been running a traveling museum of African American history for more than 20 years. Carolyn Hoskins shares African American history with hundreds of visitors a day who come to downtown Redwood City.
Her grandson, Domini, inspired the event as a kindergartner in 1997.
“He said, ‘Grammy, I am not doing another report on Dr. King because I know everything I need to know about him.’ His big question to me was, ‘Were there any other black people that did anything?'” Hoskins recalled.
That year, Hoskins helped, as Domini did his report on a variety of African Americans. Later, she founded a nonprofit in his honor: the Domini Hoskins Black History Museum and Learning Center.
Hoskins has taken smaller versions of the exhibit to schools and event centers all over the Bay Area since 2001 with the support of donations and sponsors.
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Domini, now an adult, brings his two children. But the exhibit is not just for kids, as visitor Amelia Hill can tell you.
“My head is spinning with joy,” Hill said. “I feel like a kid in a candy store of African American, Black history. Cultural things. Things my mom talked about, things my dad talked about.
Hoskins’ daughter Kate helped set up thousands of artifacts and memorabilia in the 22,000 square foot exhibit center. It displays sections from segregation and slavery to Black Lives Matter.
There’s cooking, dolls, sports, celebrities, music, and Hoskins’ favorite – a compilation of lesser-known but inspiring African Americans who invented everyday items like potato chips, the golf tee, and the cut-out light switch.
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Hoskins tells children, “Look at what you can do, so much more than what they did with nothing.”
Dorothy Hines takes notes so she can teach her students in San Jose.
“I think what she’s doing is absolutely fantastic,” Hines said of Hoskins.
In the end, Hoskins hopes all guests leave proud of their own history.
“It’s not just one race of people that has contributed to make America great,” she said. “Everybody has done their part.”
Hoskins’ late husband Bob Hoskins played for the San Francisco 49ers in the 1970s. She has four children, four grandchildren, and two great, grandchildren.
She is seeking a location for a permanent exhibit. The exhibit on Jefferson Avenue and Middlefield Road in Redwood City runs through the end of March, Tuesday through Sundays, 11am-5pm. Admission is $5.
Besides large group tours, Hoskins also accepts invitations to speak at schools.
