Oran Z Belgrave’s Museum
Oran Z. Belgrave, who owns the Pan African Black Facts & Wax Museum in Los Angeles, shows an authentic Ku Klux Klan outfit on display there. The museum, open by appointment only, houses thousands of items related to African American history that Belgrave has collected over the years. Now he’s thinking about finding new homes for his collection. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
Oran Z. Belgrave poses between wax figures of actor LeVar Burton, left, and singer Michael Jackson at Belgrave’s Pan African Black Facts & Wax Museum in L.A. His extensive collection of African American objects includes iron slave collars, lawn jockeys and “Mammy” flour sacks, as well as Tiger Woods Wheaties boxes, an Ebony magazine cover featuring Stevie Wonder and a wax figure of sports icon Jackie Robinson, along with many other items. I wanted a museum that was unbiased that lets people see it all and think what they want, Belgrave said. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
Oran Z. Belgrave with some of the thousands of items he has on display at his Pan African Black Facts & Wax Museum in L.A. Some people find certain of the objects offensive. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
Dolls of all shapes and sizes adorn several shelves in Oran Z. Belgrave’s Pan African Black Facts & Wax Museum in L.A. (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)
