Awarded with the Cultural Landscape Foundation’s inaugural Race and Space prize, The Water’s Edge Museum (WEM) is the first museum in the U.S. to honor the Founding Black Families of America.

Situated in a fragile rural heritage area on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay, Black history and the Underground Railroad happen in flood-prone areas–vulnerable, underserved societies further compromised by climate change and sea level rise.

Home to Douglass, Tubman, and Garnet, WEM honors the people who utilized their strength, resilience, and genius to build America. Their legacies are the fabric of the museum as WEM seeks to empower young people to find their place in history and identify their own positive and unique voices when facing contemporary issues and challenges.

Championing equity, WEM’s director was the first woman of color to run an art museum on the Eastern Shore, leading the community in innovative initiatives embracing intangible cultural heritage, history, and culture. Our mission includes establishing the UNESCO port marker documenting Oxford as the only Middle Passage stop on the Eastern Shore; Maryland’s first Environmental Justice as a Civil Right gallery; Climate Change gardens; and the Maryland Spirituals Initiative, weaving together music, culture, and preservation, where intergenerational choirs sing African American spirituals in historic buildings and landscapes.