Dear Neighbor,

Today, I joined my friends and colleagues in the Team Maryland Congressional Delegation, U.S. Senators Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, as well as Maryland State Senator Cory McCray, Delegate Caylin Young, and City Councilman Robert Stokes to present $2,008,580 in Congressional Funding to The National Great Blacks in Wax Museum, Inc. This Museum is the nation’s first wax museum presenting the history of great Black Americans. We fought to include this Community Project Funding in the Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus appropriations legislation.  

The Great Blacks in Wax Museum, Inc. was founded in 1983 by Drs. Elmer and Joanne Martin, two Baltimore educators who used their personal savings to purchase wax figures, which they displayed in schools, churches, shopping malls, and colleges in the mid-Atlantic region.

The is one of the most visible tourist attractions in Baltimore City and the State of Maryland, offering educational experiences that support community and family learning. It houses about 150 figures of people from the past, including Maryland luminaries such as Frederick Douglass and trailblazers like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and former President Barack Obama. 

As an anchor institution in the Oliver Community of East Baltimore, it attracts more than 125,000 visitors from across the country per year.

President and Co-founder of the Museum, Dr. Joanne Martin, joined us this morning to speak directly on how impactful this federal support will be towards the Museum's mission to continue evolving and have far-reaching influence on the economic and cultural revitalization of East Baltimore. 

However, the Museum requires new building and landscape solutions to improve its safety, accessibility, and visual impact. This money will allow the Museum to complete much-needed capital infrastructure upgrades, renovations, improvements to the current facility, and update their educational programming. 

These funds will also be used to make repairs to the exterior of the building and updates to the Main Lobby, auditorium, kitchen, and restrooms; increase accessibility for people with disabilities; and support the exhibitions.

The announcement of this federal funding is another example of the Maryland Congressional Delegation’s commitment to investing in every community across Maryland and the Greater Baltimore Area, as well as our commitment to preserving American history.

Yours in service,

Kweisi Mfume
Member of Congress