Ex-Charleston mayor says it’s the ‘right time’ to step back from active museum role | Business

More than two decades after he first proposed the project, longtime Charleston Mayor Joe Riley is stepping away from his hands-on role at the International African American Museum, less than a year from its opening.

Riley, who first announced a goal of opening a museum of African American history in January 2000, said he felt like it was the “right time” for him to scale back his involvement.

“I could not be more proud or more happy or more satisfied with the museum and what it will be,” Riley said. 

In an April 28 letter announcing that he would be concluding his “active role” in the establishment of the museum, Riley called it “the most important work” of his life.

Riley said he will continue to serve as a lifetime member of the IAAM board, but he will not be working on museum-related tasks on a daily basis, as he has been for years.

He plans to use the extra time to focus on teaching and accomplishing a goal of writing a memoir, he said.

Riley said he “didn’t want to leave too soon,” before the bulk of the work was finished, but he also knew the time would come to step back, just as he had with other nearby projects that involved the city. They included the Gaillard Center redevelopment and the S.C. Aquarium, which opened the same year as the budding concept for International African American Museum was in its infancy.

“I feel my work is done,” Riley said Friday.

At this point, the city’s longest-serving mayor said, much of the work of making the museum a reality has been completed. Before the 2019 groundbreaking, he helped raise more than $100 million for its construction and operations. Over the last almost three years, the physical building has been rising at its waterfront site off Concord Street.

Riley has spoken often about the location’s historic significance as once being part of Gadsden’s Wharf, a major port of entry for enslaved people.

“Charleston is a city that has always accepted the responsibility of preserving and presenting its history,” Riley was quoted saying in his 2000 inaugural speech, “(but) there is one aspect of Charleston’s history that we have been quiet about presenting. It is the history of African Americans — their life and role in our city and in the development of our country.”

The city has had “a duty to build a museum and tell the story,” he said.

Riley said the museum has become something he couldn’t have imagined during that inauguration ceremony more than 22 years ago.

“If you work on something for a long time with talented people, you can create something that exceeds what you expected,” Riley said. “It’s exceeding my greatest expectations.”

The outer shell of IAAM is built, and exhibit installation began early last month. The entire museum is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter. Museum officials said this week that the opening will either be late this year, or the opening may be scheduled for January 2023 to avoid conflicts with the end-of-year holiday season.

In a statement, the museum said it was “incredibly grateful” to Riley.

“No one has been closer to or more committed to this project than he,” it said, noting the “thousands of hours” he spent meeting with potential donors and others over the years, building support for the project.

“Though I’ve only had the pleasure of working with former Mayor Riley for a year, I have felt his impact and the full weight of his dream for and commitment to this institution,” said Tonya Matthews, who was named the IAAM’s second president and CEO in March 2020. “As I have said before, stewarding this museum forward is a weighty privilege and I am grateful to have had him as a guide.”