The self-taught visual artist, minister, Vietnam veteran and New Orleans native Dr. Charles Smith, 85, moved back to his home state over 20 years ago to start the African American Museum and Veteran Archive in Hammond. Since then, he has received critical acclaim and is working on restoring the museum.
Hundreds of his sculptures, which depict Black historical figures like George Washington Carver or major historical events like Hurricane Katrina and its victims, are now part of collections at museums, including the Smithsonian Anacostia Museum in Washington D.C. and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Wisconsin.
Smith’s primary focus, he says, has always been on education, especially teaching history, and to that end he has affected the lives of countless student visitors to his museums. In Aurora, Illinois, he built his first outdoor museum, and in Tangipahoa Parish, he is currently developing an art gallery and education center in Amite.…