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HILL AIR FORCE BASE — In a bid to collect and preserve the history of Utah's Black community, Hill Air Force Base, an African-American cultural organization and the Utah Historical Society are joining forces in seeking historical items, documents and more from the public.
"These items from our history tell a fuller story of Utah as a state and the U.S. as a country," said Alice Faulkner Burch, one of the leaders of the Sema Hadithi African American Heritage and Culture Foundation, which is based in West Valley City.
Sema Hadithi will join forces on Saturday with reps from the Utah Historical Society and other organizations at Hill Aerospace Museum near Roy as part of their efforts to document Black history in the state. The event — focused on gathering material related to African Americans who served in the military or worked at Hill Air Force Base in civilian roles — goes from noon to 4 p.m. The museum is located on Hill grounds, though not behind the military installation's gated walls, at 7961 Cottonwood Street, Building 1955.
It's only one prong of Sema Hadithi initiatives. The organization will hold additional events in May, July and next year to collect documents, photos and more that tell the story of the varied facets of Utah's Black community. Likewise, Hill Aerospace Museum plans to hold additional outreach efforts to gather historical items of military significance from other segments of the population, perhaps Latinos and veterans, said Elisabeth Cropper, an education specialist at the museum.
The public is invited to bring photos, letters, recipes and other items on Saturday that relate to the military contributions of Utah's Black community, though items pertaining to other facets of Black life are also welcome. Utah Historical Society staffers will create digital copies of the material, returning the originals.
"These digital materials will become part of the Peoples of Utah Revisited online collection. In this collection, your materials will be freely available for present and future generations to learn about your community," reads a flier on Saturday's event. The Peoples of Utah Revisited is an online Utah Historical Society initiative meant to showcase digital copies of historical materials that "amplify voices that have not been heard."
The Utah Historical Society will offer a presentation at noon during Saturday's event related to Utah's Black history. Moreover, representatives from the Sema Hadithi foundation, the Ogden chapter of the NAACP and other organizations will be on hand with displays, providing additional information.
Sema Hadithi also plans to collect materials relevant to Utah's Black history at events on May 9 in Salt Lake County, July 9 in Utah County and January of next year in Moab. Additional details have not yet been released.
"Sema Hadithi is collecting any and all items that Utahns have to aid us preserving Utah's Black history," Burch said. The group is trying to preserve historical items that have "been lost or hidden or gathered up by private collectors not wanting to share it."
Though Peoples of Utah Revisted is an online initiative, Burch said Sema Hadithi hopes to collect physical items for display in exhibits. Sema Hadithi has several exhibits related to Black history that it circulates around Utah.
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated Sema Hadithi and the Utah Historical Society would take part in events on May 9, July 9 and next January. At this point, the Utah Historical Society is not planning to take part.
