The Iberia African American Historical Society will be celebrating the opening of a long-awaited Iberia African American Historical Society center for Research and Learning.

Members and friends of the IAAHS are invited to the soft opening, which will take place Nov. 12 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at 230 E. Main St.

Speakers for the event will include Phebe Hayes, PH.D., president and founder of the IAAHS.

Ian Beamis, PH.D., assistant professor of history at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette will also discuss how the Center for Research and Learning is already shaping education at the collegiate level, according to a prepared statement.

Cheylon Woods, director of the Ernest J. Gaines Center, will present on the importance of community research centers as well.

Following the presentations, attendees can sign up for small group tours of the Center for Research and Learning and learn more about how the community can engage with the space.

The center is slated to facilitate the ongoing research and preservation of the African American influence in both historical and present-day Iberia Parish.

The center will accomplish its mission through robust community engagement, acquiring and digitizing records, objects and photographs that represent the inclusive history of the parish and maintaining an archive that is both physically and virtually accessible.

The Center for Research and Learning and its resources will be available to schools for curriculum development and integration, family historians, researchers, or anyone interested in learning the full and inclusive history of Iberia Parish.

“The purpose is to provide a space for the community to gather to research and learn the inclusive history of Iberia Parish, especially African American contributions,” Hayes said in a prepared statement.

The IAAHS Center for Research and Learning will be located on the second floor of the Shadows Visitor Center as part of the formal agreement entered by IAAHS and the Shadows-on-the-Teche. This will allow both organizations to continue to partner on programs, exhibits and the ongoing reinterpretation of the Shadows as a site of enslavement.