VALDOSTA – “Making your mark on the world is hard. If it were easy, everybody would do it.”

Valdosta’s own Josh Harvey-Clemons read this quote from Barack Obama as he spoke to the crowd that gathered for the grand opening of the Copeland African American Museum. This quote not only summarizes Harvey-Clemons own journey, but the journey of every person represented within the museum.

Harvey-Clemons is a Lowndes High School graduate who, after hitting a few bumps in the road, was drafted by the Washington Redskins. He still visits his family in Valdosta during the off season and was asked by Roy Copeland to be the guest speaker for the museum opening.

Back in 1989, Cheryl Copeland decided to surprise her husband, Roy, with a pair of boxing gloves signed by Muhammed Ali, which sparked a few decades of memorabilia seeking and ended with an impressive collection.

After their collection made its rounds to various universities, the Copelands decided to donate it to the Valdosta State University Harley Langdale Jr. College of Business Administration in 2016. 

Dr. William Plumly took the ball from there, finding a spot for an appropriate museum inside Thaxton Hall, and Ashley Braswell, director of development, orchestrated the design of the space.

“It’s a great feeling to know that people are working hard to do things like this not only for the campus but for the City of Valdosta,” Harvey-Clemons said.

There are currently more than 20 pieces in the museum which will be changed out every three to six months in hopes guests will visit multiple times in a year and see something new each time.

Items currently on display include a guitar signed by B.B. King, a football signed by Douglas Lee Williams and the Ali boxing gloves that started it all. An interactive screen was installed on one of the walls for people wanting to see B.B. King perform or see Martin Luther King Jr. speak.

The Copeland African American Museum will be open 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Friday. Group tours may be scheduled by contacting TaMara Tolbert, graduate assistant for the museum, at caammuseum@valdosta.edu or (229) 245-2448. Parking passes may be obtained via email with advance notification.

VSU’s Rea and Lillian Steele North Campus is located at the intersection of Patterson Street and Pendleton Drive, across from South Georgia Medical Center.

Desiree Carver is a reporter at the Valdosta Daily Times. She can be reached at (229) 244-3400 ext. 1215.