Cosby, Vereen to headline slavery museum event

FREDERICKSBURG, Va. Entertainers Bill Cosby and Ben Vereen will headline a gala fundraiser for former Governor Doug Wilder's slavery museum tomorrow in Washington.
Wilder and other organizers have raised about half of the estimated 100 (M) million dollars needed to build the United States National Slavery Museum in Fredericksburg.

Wilder -- now the mayor of Richmond -- also wants to raise additional funds to operate the museum.

The fundraiser was originally set for February in New York City, but was postponed so it could be moved to a larger venue.

Wilder is the grandson of slaves and the nation's first elected black governor. He says the idea for the museum was born during his visit to West Africa in 1992.

Construction has NOT yet begun on the 250-thousand-square-foot building. It is planned to include a full-size reproduction of a slave ship and more than 5-thousand artifacts.

Wilder now hopes a portion of the museum will be open to the public by next year.

Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=4981151&nav=23ii