Virtual ‘We The People’ Museum Set in Encanto Uses Drones to Preserve BIPOC History

‘We The People’ Museum, the world’s first virtual museum dedicated to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) history and culture, is set in the backdrop of Encanto, near Valencia Park/Malcolm X Library.

The museum, led by nonprofit Our Genetic Legacy, uses advanced drone technology to map historical sites central to BIPOC history, highlighting the impact of the Transatlantic Slave Trade in California and beyond.

Central to the museum is The DRONe Project, a training program for BIPOC girls and young women ages 14-24, offering hands-on experience with drone technology and FAA certification. Participants, including members from San Diego’s 2022-2023 cohort, use drones to gather data and collect stories that inform ‘We The People’ exhibits.

Shellie Baxter, founder and CEO of Our Genetic Legacy, said she chose San Diego as the museum’s Metaverse location for its often-overlooked importance to BIPOC history.

“As a native San Diegan, I started at home and explored California’s, particularly San Diego County’s, hidden history,” Baxter said. 

“Because California is a free state, it is not commonly associated with slave trafficking, and we wanted to broaden the narrative by highlighting our ‘silent’ participation. We took it a step further by situating our virtual space in a historically under-resourced neighborhood of San Diego, adding a visual anchor to our exploration.”

Set against a virtual landscape of San Diego’s Market Street in Encanto, a predominantly BIPOC community, the museum features digital exhibits drawn from recent international DRONe Project mapping trips to Ghana, the United Kingdom and Portugal.

Current exhibits will be available until September 2025, when the museum’s theme changes to “Self Emancipation: Enslaved Who Freed Themselves.” 

To explore the museum online, go to https://bit.ly/WTPMuseum.