Shirley Kinsey (née Pooler; born February 7, 1946) is a

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

-based

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

, art collector, and former school teacher known, along with husband

Bernard Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

and son Khalil, as the owner of Kinsey Collection, one of the largest private collections of

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

history and art in the world.

Early life and education

Shirley was born to Erma and Eddie Pooler on February 7, 1946, in

Lake City, Florida Lake City is a city in northern Florida. It is the county seat of Columbia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 12,329. It is the principal city of the Lake City Micropolitan Statistical Area, which ...

. She attended university at

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the U ...

, where she met Bernard Kinsey, her future husband, following her arrest at a civil rights protest. She graduated with a degree in English in 1967. Shirley and Bernard married the same year and set a goal of travelling the world together. The couple was married in

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...

at the First Baptist Institutional Church, followed by a reception in the faculty lounge at the university. Following graduation she was hired as a teacher with the Compton Unified School District. She later returned to school, graduating in 1976 from

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California. Pepperdine's main campus consists of 830 acres (340 ha) overlooking the Pacific Ocean and t ...

with a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

in multi-cultural education.

Kinsey African American Art & History Collection

Shirley and Bernard began collecting art as a way of documenting their travels. Realizing they knew little of their own history and culture, the couple began collecting African-American art, literature and manuscripts eventually amassing one of the largest private collections in the world. Their collecting expanded following the birth of their son Khalil as a way of documenting where he came from outside of narratives focused on slavery. Pieces from their collection has toured extensively across the United States since 2006. The collection was exhibited internationally for the first time in 2016 in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. Khalil Kinsey works closely with his parents having served as chief operating officer and curator of collection and as vice president of the Bernard and Shirley Kinsey Foundation. The Kinsey family and their collection were featured on Episode 26 of the podcast '' This Is Love'' in 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kinsey, Shirley 1946 births American art collectors American philanthropists Florida A&M University alumni Living people People from Lake City, Florida People from Los Angeles Pepperdine University alumni