SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — The San Diego History Center has launched a community effort to collect pictures, documents and items that narrate the stories of influential figures in the city's Black community.
The aim of the "Missing Pieces" Project is to ensure that the legacies of Black San Diegans are preserved and not forgotten.
This collection includes notable individuals, like Howard "Skippy" Smith, who founded the first parachute company in San Diego.
Wendy McKinney from the history center says the purpose of this initiative is to highlight the contributions of individuals who have historically been overlooked.
“Who are the people that broke those barriers? That actually made it possible for these young people to do what they are doing. It’s like if you don’t know about your history, you can’t really celebrate it," she says.
Missing Pieces is a collaboration between the San Diego History Center and the Black Chamber of Commerce.
Though the project has been actively in development for months, it stems from years of dialogue regarding the preservation of Black history in the region.
"There are gaps and additional elements that need to be added there," McKinney says.
This project follows ABC 10News’ previous feature of the center’s timeline of Black San Diegans in 2021, which gathered photos and documents from local families.
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McKinney says Missing Pieces emerged during preparations for an exhibit about San Diego’s first Black homesteader, Nathan Harrison, who was recognized as the Palomar Pioneer and a member of the Luiseño Tribe.
Harrison's story was well-documented due to his status as the most photographed San Diegan of his time and his archaeological explorations of his former cabin site. However, McKinney pointed out a challenge the center faced.
“When we started researching the other stories that were celebrated by African Americans at the History Center, there weren’t many. There were some, but kind of scattered,” McKinney says.
To address this, the center formed the African American Advisory Council and initiated a call for action, urging the community to gather historical items. These contributions have since been digitized to ensure a digital footprint that allows anyone to learn about figures such as Skippy Smith and Nathan Harrison.
“We have some wonderful history right now. We have an African American chief of fire. We have Shirley Weber, Dr. Shirley Weber, who is California's Secretary of State, and her daughter is a state senator," McKinney says. "We want to celebrate and keep capturing history. We’ve done a poor job of doing it in the past, so we want to start here and continue forever.”
The San Diego History Center will host an event unveiling its digital exhibit at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 26. The event will celebrate the project’s achievements and the contributions of the Black community, featuring soul food and panels with local legends and their families.
While this project focuses on Black San Diegans, the center also welcomes collections from all communities for digitization and archiving.
By preserving these stories, the San Diego History Center hopes to ensure that the histories of all of the city's communities are maintained for future generations.
