Museum of the Grand Prairie’s Complex Legacy for African Americans, Part Two

Museum of the Grand Prairie’s Complex Legacy for African Americans, Part Two

Smile Politely

Published Date: July 30, 2020

This is part two of her installment on the Museum of the Grand Prairie. Read part one here.

Patricia McKinney-Lewis is a retired Champaign Unit 4 Schools educator (and former Unit 4 school principal). She's featured in the Legacy Is Yours exhibit. In addition, McKinney-Lewis is a philanthropist/fundraiser for C-U Schools Foundation, a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority (Epsilon Epsilon Omega Chapter) in Champaign, and food pantry director at St. Luke C.M.E. Church.

McKinney-Lewis loaned the picture of her husband’s aunt to the Museum of the Grand Prairie (MGP); her aunt, Nan Giles-Bostic (pictured in part one towards the bottom of the article) is the image that opens the exhibit. However, the names of the individuals depicted were provided to me by McKinney-Lewis, but are absent from the exhibit.