PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Since 2015, The Colored Girls Museum has honored the history of women of color. On Wednesday, the museum’s founder testified before the Zoning Board of Adjustment to defend her right to operate the nationally recognized Germantown institution.
“The Colored Girls Museum helps create the sanctuary as women and girls of the African diaspora manage our grief,” founder Vashti Dubois said before the hearing.
Dubois established the museum as a way to work through her own grief after her husband's death. Over a decade ago, she transformed her Victorian home into a three-story museum dedicated to women of color. In the last eight years, it has been a community stronghold.
However, now the city’s zoning board has determined the museum is in violation of two ordinances.
The first: “You can't have a dual use property,” she said. “It can't be both a residence and a library museum.”
Dubois operates the museum out of her home, located at 4613 Newhall Street. At the hearing, she immediately agreed to no longer use the property as her residence.
“Listen, I don’t have to live in the museum. If that’s a sticking point, I won’t live here,” she told KYW Newsradio.
The second violation: Cultural institutions in residential neighborhoods must be detached. The museum shares a wall with the neighboring house.
“I can't do anything about the fact that this beautiful little house has a twin,” she said. “But you know what? My neighbors, they support The Colored Girls Museum.”
Now, Dubois is asking the city to waive those rules and grant a variance.
“What the variance does is it says, ‘Yes, we know that this is a code, but we're actually going to give you a reprieve from that,’” she said.
Dubois argued extending a variance for an attached home wouldn't be unheard of.
“Other museums have been issued variances in the past,” she said. “For example, the Paul Robeson House is a twin. The Marian Anderson is a row home.”
At her hearing, Dubois presented over 100 letters of support for the museum. Several community members also testified in support.
Dubois ended her testimony by saying if she is forced to close the museum, the Germantown community would suffer, because the location is equally as important as the artwork inside.
No decision was made at the hearing. The voting was postponed until tax clearances are provided.