PRESS CENTER
Founding
Sema Hadithi Foundation was founded by Robert S. Burch, Jr., in August 2020. Its mission is to tell the story of African-ancestored history, heritage, and culture by researching, preserving, and disseminating information throughout the community.
For years Robert and Alice Burch experienced community ignorance surrounding the rich history of Blacks in Utah. Alice spoke with Robert often about focusing on bringing to light the many stories they had discovered. These stories are integral to the story of Utah, yet were not being shared with the broader community. The more events, lectures, and conferences they produced on family history, the clearer it became they needed to do things differently. The research in one area inevitably leads to a need in the other. The more genealogy research they participated in, the cleared it became it could and should be used to help further the story of all of Utah.
Salt Lake County, Utah
Video Presentation
Illustrating Utah History: The Fort Duchesne Buffalo Soldiers
Hosted by Alana Blumenthal, Directory of Brigham City Museum of Art and History
Featuring Reilly Jensen, Dwayne Madry, and Fiona Robinson-Hill
Introduction by Robert S. Burch, Jr.
Press Releases
Utah Division of Archives and Records Service Family History Day
October 23, 2021
PRE-RECORDED PRESENTATION
Robert Burch
“Sema Hadithi Foundation was founded on the need to tell a fuller story of the Black experience in Utah. Its history initiative brings together the efforts of a number of organizations, including the State of Utah. We hope the State will be a key part of the collection and archiving of artifacts and digital support. The project brings together Utah AAHGS, Better Days, Preservation Strategies, University of Utah, Brigham City Museum, Union Station Museums, Fort Douglas Museum, and a diverse team of educators and researchers.”
The presentation will discuss the creation of this team of 25 professionals as well as current and future projects to bring the story of Black Utah to life.
Utah Museum Association Annual Conference
October 27-29, 2021 | St. George, UT
https://www.utahmuseums.org/page/2021Conf
Alana Blumenthal and Robert Burch
“Museums often struggle to step outside of their comfort areas and find approaches to underserved communities. Sema Hadithi African American Heritage and Culture Foundation is confronting that issue head-on, by taking the critical steps of researching and building relationships prior to building a physical museum.”
2021 Annual Day of Remembrance Celebration and Black History Conference
October 8-9, 2021
Robert Burch
admin@semahadithi.org
SALT LAKE CITY, UT -- The Sema Hadithi African American Heritage and Culture Foundation and the Utah Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society are excited to announce the programming for this year’s Day of Remembrance Celebration and Black History Conference. The events will take place on October 8-9, hosted by the University of Utah Black Cultural Center and the Fort Douglas Military Museum. The theme of this year’s conference is Tell the Story: Unity Through Historical Truth.
The Day of Remembrance Celebration will take place on Friday October 8th from 5-8pm at the Fort Douglas Post Theatre. The conference will run from 9am-6pm on October 9th at Fort Douglas Military Museum and University of Utah Guest House. Topics for this year’s sessions highlight some of the active working groups involved in Sema Hadithi Foundation’s research, such as the Buffalo Soldiers, black women, lynchings and the community remembrance project, and the Black church. Museum Director Beau Burgess will also lead a tour of the Museum and Fort.
“This is an opportunity for the public to gather to learn about the amazing research that is being done into the untold Black stories of Utah,” said Robert Burch, Executive Director and co-founder of Sema Hadithi Foundation. “Our incredible team of professional and amateur researchers work hard all year to discover these stories. This is their chance to share the work they devote their time to. We can’t wait to bring everyone together to “tell the story” during this weekend of programming.”
Registration is free, thanks in part to a generous sponsorship by the Utah Department of Cultural and Community Engagement’s Thrive 125 project. The program is presented in partnership with Project Success Coalition, Brigham City Museums, Union Station Museums, Mormon History Association, Preservation Strategies, and Utah Humanities. To register or to learn more about the programming, visit semahadithi.org/events.
Corporate sponsorships are welcomed as well as individual contributions to support the conference and the work of the foundation. Please contact Kirk Huffaker, Board Managing Director, at kirk@kirkhuffaker.com with your interest.
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Founded in 2020, the mission of Sema Hadithi African American Heritage and Culture Foundation strives to “tell the story” of African-ancestored history, heritage, and culture by researching, preserving, and disseminating information throughout the community. To support the work of Sema Hadithi Foundation, you can donate here.
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/semahadithifoundation-1
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To learn more about how you can contribute to research or donate to support one of the many great research projects we have underway or planned visit the future projects page here.
https://www.semahadithi.org/future-projects
