Kathe Hambrick, Author & Interpreter, Talks Story with Bill Gwaltney and Tim Merriman

Reflections on Interpretation: Talking Story with Guides and Interpreters

Kathe Hambrick is Executive Director of the Amistad Research Center in Louisiana. In this role, Hambrick sees an opportunity to mentor and shape a new generation of curators, archivists, and digitization specialists. The mission of the Amistad Research Center is to "collect, preserve, and provide access to original documents that highlight the social and cultural significance of America's ethnic and racial history, the African Diaspora, human rights, and civil rights.

"Hambrick is also an accomplished author and co-author of several books, including Juke Joint Men, Oh Say Can You See: Flag Paintings of Malaika Favorite, Our Roots Run Deep, and Freedoms' Journey: Understanding the Underground Railroad in South Louisiana. She taught "Introduction to Museology" at Southern University in New Orleans, where she earned her Master’s degree in Museum Studies in 2012.

Kathe Hambrick has long chosen the challenging path to truth, using interpretation to tell stories that are often overlooked or deliberately erased.

"Making a Way Out of No Way" has been a guiding principle for Hambrick, who founded and served as the Director of the River Road African American Museum in rural Louisiana, her home state. In this role, she was dedicated to promoting the history of African Americans in the rural parishes along the Mississippi River, relying more on passion and inspiration than on consistent financial support.

Hambrick also served as President of the Association of African American Museums, a demanding, unpaid volunteer position that required significant leadership in historic preservation and public history. Her tenure involved making decisions that shaped the understanding and representation of African American history on a national scale.

Today, Kathe Hambrick is an independent consultant, curator, public historian, author, and public speaker. In April 2021, she founded her consulting business, 2PRESERVE LLC, where she provides expertise in exhibit design, program development, museum governance, and interpretive planning.

Throughout her career, Hambrick has been deeply committed to preserving historic buildings and slavery-era burial grounds, ensuring these sites and their stories are remembered. She has a strong background in community relations, having served as a liaison between corporations, museums, governmental agencies, community leaders, and faith-based organizations.

As Chief Curator and Director of Interpretation for the West Baton Rouge Museum, Hambrick curated over 100 exhibits, including "The Rural Roots of Jazz" and "Rural Black Doctors." Her latest projects include a permanent exhibit about the enslaved people sold by the Jesuits of Georgetown to an Episcopal sugar planter in Ascension Parish, Louisiana.

Throughout her career, Kathe Hambrick has used costumed interpretation, exhibits, and interpretive programs to weave together the diverse threads of American history, creating a more complete and inclusive narrative.