Kinsey Collection Creator tells his story

Bernard Kinsey wants to dispel what he calls "the myth of absence."

"The myth of absence is that African Americans are invisibly present," said the creator of the Kinsey Collection, an African American art exhibit currently on display at Epcot at Disney World in Orlando.

Kinsey was speaking to students at the Disney Dreamers Academy sponsored by Steve Harvey and Essence magazine. The four-day program is designed to inspire and motivate youth to follow their dreams.

"Lewis and Clark had a Black man with them,” Kinsey says. “We were there with Lincoln and Grant, but all of this has been left out of the history books or history. We're saying let's look at the narrative a little different."



That different narrative is a collection of 40 pieces of African-American art, artifacts, documents, and sculptures that were collected by Kinsey and his wife Shirley. The pieces have traveled the country including being on display at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

 The Epcot exhibit was unveiled at the Dreamers Academy on March 9.

"The Kinsey Collection is all about achievement and accomplishment,"Kinsey says. "We want to talk about the people who made a difference in building this country."

Bernard Kinsey talks about the Kinsey Collection.

A book is available about the history

  of the collection

This Bill of Sale is one of 40 pieces in the collection.

The pieces tell a story that Kinsey says is 'absent.'

Kinsey and his wife, Shirley have collected the pieces during their travel to 90 countries.

The exhibit features information about Blacks in all walks of life.