Lonnie Bunch
Historian and educator Lonnie G. Bunch was born November 18, 1952, in Newark, New Jersey. After graduating from Belleville High School in 1970, Bunch enrolled in Howard University and later transferred to the American University in Washington, D.C. Bunch stayed at American, earning his B.A. degree in 1974; his M.A. degree in 1976; and his Ph.D. in 1979. Bunch's degrees were in the fields of American and African American history.
While working on his doctorate, Bunch went to work for the Smithsonian Institution as an educator and historian. After earning his Ph.D., Bunch took a position with the University of Massachusetts as a professor of history, where he remained until 1983. Crossing the country, Bunch became the founding curator of the California African American Museum in Los Angeles in 1983, and remained there until 1989. From there Bunch went on to become the associate director for curatorial affairs at the National Museum of American History, a position he retained until 2000. In 2001, Bunch became the president of the Chicago Historical Society, one of the oldest history museums in the nation.
Bunch published numerous books and magazine articles on topics ranging from African American history to cultural experiences in Japan. Bunch served as a trustee of the American Association of Museums and the Council of the American Association of State & Local History, and was a member of the American Antiquarian Society. Bunch was later appointed by President George W. Bush to the Commission for the Preservation of the White House.
A2003.212
Male

9/5/2003
Bunch
Married
G.
Belleville High School
American University
Howard University

Lonnie
Newark
BUN01
Fall
New Jersey
Anywhere
Never believe your own clippings.

District of Columbia
11/18/1952
Washington
United States
Hamburgers
Museum chief executive and curator Lonnie Bunch (1952 - ) was the founding curator of the California African American Museum in Los Angeles. Bunch later served as the Associate Director for Curatorial Affairs at the National Museum of American History, the president of the Chicago Historical Society, and on the Commission for the Preservation of the White House.
Smithsonian Institute
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
California Afro-American Museum
National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution
Chicago Historical Society
Blue
Tape: 1 Story: 1 - Slating of Lonnie Bunch interview
Tape: 1 Story: 2 - Lonnie Bunch's favorites
Tape: 1 Story: 3 - Lonnie Bunch discusses his father's origins and career choices
Tape: 1 Story: 4 - Lonnie Bunch talks about the origins of his family name
Tape: 1 Story: 5 - Lonnie Bunch talks about his mother and his parents' courtship
Tape: 1 Story: 6 - Lonnie Bunch discusses his earliest memories of Belleville, New Jersey
Tape: 1 Story: 7 - Lonnie Bunch recalls the sights, smells and sounds of Belleville, New Jersey
Tape: 1 Story: 8 - Lonnie Bunch remembers his grandparents
Tape: 1 Story: 9 - Lonnie Bunch describes his upbringing and parents' influence
Tape: 2 Story: 1 - Lonnie Bunch discusses the cultural composition of his hometown, Belleville, New Jersey
Tape: 2 Story: 2 - Lonnie Bunch discusses the role of religion in his family
Tape: 2 Story: 3 - Lonnie Bunch remembers episodes from his all-white elementary school
Tape: 2 Story: 4 - Lonnie Bunch discusses his family's approach to racism
Tape: 2 Story: 5 - Lonnie Bunch remembers conversations with his family members
Tape: 2 Story: 6 - Lonnie Bunch reflects on the cultural exclusion of his childhood
Tape: 2 Story: 7 - Lonnie Bunch describes his childhood personality and interests
Tape: 2 Story: 8 - Lonnie Bunch shares his early memories of baseball
Tape: 2 Story: 9 - Lonnie Bunch remembers his junior high school years
Tape: 2 Story: 10 - Lonnie Bunch remembers historical events from the 1960s
Tape: 2 Story: 11 - Lonnie Bunch discusses his exposure to black culture as a child
Tape: 2 Story: 12 - Lonnie Bunch recalls an early interracial love interest, part 1
Tape: 3 Story: 1 - Lonnie Bunch recalls an early interracial love interest, part 2
Tape: 3 Story: 2 - Lonnie Bunch discusses the Italian influence in his hometown
Tape: 3 Story: 3 - Lonnie Bunch remembers influential people from his early life
Tape: 3 Story: 4 - Lonnie Bunch explains his decision to attend Howard University
Tape: 3 Story: 5 - Lonnie Bunch discusses his experience at Howard University
Tape: 3 Story: 6 - Lonnie Bunch discusses the leadership of Howard University in the early 1970s
Tape: 3 Story: 7 - Lonnie Bunch remembers the students of Howard University in the early 1970s
Tape: 3 Story: 8 - Lonnie Bunch discusses activism at Howard University in the early 1970s
Tape: 3 Story: 9 - Lonnie Bunch describes color prejudice at Howard University in the early 1970s
Tape: 3 Story: 10 - Lonnie Bunch discusses Howard University's history department in the early 1970s
Tape: 4 Story: 1 - Lonnie Bunch describes his father's mentoring of neighborhood children on higher education
Tape: 4 Story: 2 - Lonnie Bunch considers the long tradition of black historians
Tape: 4 Story: 3 - Lonnie Bunch considers the history and African American studies disciplines
Tape: 4 Story: 4 - Lonnie Bunch discusses his literary pursuits during college
Tape: 4 Story: 5 - Lonnie Bunch discusses his early scholarly interests
Tape: 4 Story: 6 - Lonnie Bunch explains his decision to transfer from Howard University to American University
Tape: 4 Story: 7 - Lonnie Bunch discusses his decision to attend graduate school
Tape: 5 Story: 1 - Lonnie Bunch discusses the role of mentoring in his graduate studies
Tape: 5 Story: 2 - Lonnie Bunch describes his early professional years at the Smithsonian Institution
Tape: 5 Story: 3 - Lonnie Bunch discusses the African American presence in museum exhibitions
Tape: 5 Story: 4 - Lonnie Bunch considers his role as a historian
Tape: 5 Story: 5 - Lonnie Bunch discusses becoming a professor at the University of Massachusetts
Tape: 5 Story: 6 - Lonnie Bunch becomes the curator of the California African American Museum
Tape: 5 Story: 7 - Lonnie Bunch remembers the originators of the California African American Museum
Tape: 5 Story: 8 - Lonnie Bunch describes his approach to the California African American Museum
Tape: 5 Story: 9 - Lonnie Bunch discusses his first book project 'Black Angelenos: The Afro-American in Los Angeles, 1850-1950'
Tape: 6 Story: 1 - Lonnie Bunch discusses his initiatives as founding curator of the California African American Museum, Los Angeles, California
Tape: 6 Story: 2 - Lonnie Bunch reflects on his research methodology
Tape: 6 Story: 3 - Lonnie Bunch compares regional black communities
Tape: 6 Story: 4 - Lonnie Bunch discusses his appointment at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Tape: 6 Story: 5 - Lonnie Bunch describes diversity at the Smithsonian Institution
Tape: 6 Story: 6 - Lonnie Bunch discusses his early projects as a curator at the Smithsonian Institution
Tape: 7 Story: 1 - Lonnie Bunch discusses his role in and the positive effects of a Smithsonian exhibition in Japan
Tape: 7 Story: 2 - Lonnie Bunch discusses the impact of the Smithsonian Institution's slavery exhibition
Tape: 7 Story: 3 - Lonnie Bunch discusses invaluable knowledge contained in the WPA slave narratives
Tape: 7 Story: 4 - Lonnie Bunch comments on the issue of reparations for slavery
Tape: 7 Story: 5 - Lonnie Bunch recalls his proudest moments at the Smithsonian Institution
Tape: 7 Story: 6 - Lonnie Bunch explains his move from the Smithsonian Institution to the Chicago Historical Society
Tape: 7 Story: 7 - Lonnie Bunch describes his plans for the Chicago Historical Society
Tape: 8 Story: 1 - Lonnie Bunch discusses the evolution of studies in public history
Tape: 8 Story: 2 - Lonnie Bunch describes the role of urban history
Tape: 8 Story: 3 - Lonnie Bunch considers the past, present and future of African American studies
Tape: 8 Story: 4 - Lonnie Bunch contemplates integration's potential
Tape: 8 Story: 5 - Lonnie Bunch offers his concerns for the black community
Tape: 8 Story: 6 - Lonnie Bunch considers his legacy
Tape: 8 Story: 7 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch with his parents and grandparents in Woodland, North Carolina, 1954
Tape: 8 Story: 8 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch's mother and father in their Belleville, New Jersey home, early 1960s
Tape: 8 Story: 9 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch's paternal grandmother, Leanna Brodie-Bunch
Tape: 8 Story: 10 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch's oldest daughter, Katie Elizabeth Bunch
Tape: 8 Story: 11 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch's daughter Sarah Maria Bunch, Herndon, Virginia, ca. 1997
Tape: 8 Story: 12 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch with his brother and father, Belleville, New Jersey, ca. 1961
Tape: 8 Story: 13 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch and his wife, Maria Marable Bunch, on the Champs-Elysees, Paris, France, 1995
Tape: 8 Story: 14 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch's paternal great-great-grandfather, Robert Lee Brodie, Neuse, North Carolina, 1959
Tape: 8 Story: 15 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch's great-great-great-grandmother, Jane Dunn, Neuse, North Carolina, 1913
Tape: 9 Story: 1 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch with colleagues from the American Festival, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1993
Tape: 9 Story: 2 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch with others at the exhibition, 'The Black Olympians: 1904-1984', Los Angeles, California, June, 1984
Tape: 9 Story: 3 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch's parents and daughters at Christmastime, Oak Park, Illinois, December, 2001
Tape: 9 Story: 4 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch's daughter, Sarah Maria Bunch, vacationing in San Diego, California, August, 2003
Tape: 9 Story: 5 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch's daughter, Sarah Maria Bunch, in her soccer uniform, Oak Park, Illinois, 2003
Tape: 9 Story: 6 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch's daughter, Sarah Maria Bunch, playing soccer in Manchester, England, 2002
Tape: 9 Story: 7 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch's wife and daughter taking a break from vacationing in Tijuana, Mexico, August, 2003
Tape: 9 Story: 8 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch's daughter, Sarah Maria Bunch, on a visit to Taos, New Mexico, 2002
Tape: 9 Story: 9 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch with his daughter, Katherine Elizabeth Bunch, Santa Barbara, California, ca. 1985-1986
Tape: 9 Story: 10 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch's wife, Maria Marable-Bunch, and daughter, Katherine Elizabeth Bunch, San Francisco, California, 1986
Tape: 9 Story: 11 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch's daughter, Katherine Elizabeth Bunch on her high school graduation day, Herndon, Virginia, June, 2001
Tape: 9 Story: 12 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch's daughter, Sarah Maria Bunch, on vacation in Kona, Hawaii, 2001
Tape: 9 Story: 13 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch's wife, Maria Marable-Bunch, and daughter, Sarah Maria Bunch, Oak Park, Illinois, ca. 2003
Tape: 9 Story: 14 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch's wife and daughters in New York, New York, December, 2001
Tape: 9 Story: 15 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch's daughters, Sarah Maria Bunch and Katherine Elizabeth Bunch, Oak Park, Illinois, December, 2002
Tape: 9 Story: 16 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch with his wife and children on a visit to Frederick Douglass's home in Washington, D.C., 1991
Tape: 9 Story: 17 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch with members of his staff from the Smithsonian Institution on a visit to Tokyo, Japan, 1992
Tape: 9 Story: 18 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch with his wife, Maria Marable-Bunch, Tyson's Corner, Virginia, 1999
Tape: 9 Story: 19 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch with other members of the Accreditation Council of the American Association of Museums, Washington, D.C., 1999
Tape: 9 Story: 20 - Photo - Lonnie Bunch's mother, Montrose Boone Bunch's extended family at a reunion in Norfolk, Virginia, 1998
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