Butler helped found the center in 1987 when she helped secure a $10,000 grant that allowed the purchase of the museum's home at 700 Arlington Avenue, where the center is still housed.

It has been a labor of love for Butler, a former middle school history teacher. She discovered more than 20 years ago that the African American story in this county – a rich tale of perseverance and achievement in the face of slavery, racial segregation and Jim Crow – was being lost. Because no one had dedicated themselves to preserving this history, the idea of the Cultural Exchange Center was born. Mrs. Butler united with other African American leaders in the Upstate – teachers, businessmen, pastors and elected officials – and they eventually created a governing body that would oversee the center and ensure its survival. But sustaining the center has not been easy.

Just a few years ago the structure was condemned because the center's building needed renovations but lacked the funding. However, those who know Mrs. Butler's heart knew her dedication alone was enough to save the center. Eventually, she got the community at large behind the Cultural Exchange Center and raised the money necessary to reopen it, in better shape and with better support than it has enjoyed in years.

The Cultural Exchange Center, like the people it celebrates, has overcome some daunting obstacles and impossible odds to persevere and grow. Mrs. Butler deserves the most credit for the center's survival, as she is truly the keeper of our history. The Greenville community undoubtedly profits from the Cultural Exchange Center. Just about every milestone is chronicled somewhere in the Cultural Exchange Center. Greenville's first black policeman. Greenville's first African-American doctor. Greenville's first black elected official. Much space is rightly devoted to the historic presidential run of native son Jesse Jackson, who sought the presidency in 1984 and in 1988. But the center's most important service is that is allows this generation to identify with African American success.

Black History Month is a perfect time to visit the center. Because donations are unpredictable and securing grant money is a competitive process, the center is always open to support. WJMZ salutes Ruth Ann Butler for her continued efforts to keep Black History a living history, one that instructs and inspires.