The Palacio Podcast
Max Viltz is Shaping the Future by Treasuring the Past
Max Viltz (H. Maxie-Viltz) is the founder and owner of Village Treasures on Broadway in downtown Long Beach. Entering the store is walking into a culture rich environment of World imports with an emphasis on African imports. The shelves, floor, and walls are filled with clothing, jewelry, art, books, masks, statues, and every other conceivable reflection of cultures from India, South America, Indonesia, and Africa. But, the store is more than just a store. It reflects the commitment and passion of Max Viltz to ensuring that today’s and tomorrow’s generations know there is a fuller history and culture deeply ingrained in the identity of this country. Village Treasures is a daily reminder that, for many of us, we are part of a diaspora that extends from Africa to all parts of the world.
“I am passionate about what I do; whether it’s the shop, for things I do in the community.”
Max Viltz
PalacioMagazine.com interviewed Max Viltz for The Palacio Podcast sitting amongst the clothing, artwork, and artifacts that fill her street-level store at 247 Broadway at Long Beach Blvd.
Max Viltz moved with her family
…at an early age from Lufkin, Texas (near Houston) to Long Beach.
“My parents were average workers in the community. My mother worked as a cashier in grocery stores. It was kind of a big deal at the time because there weren’t a lot of black women that worked in the grocery stores.”
Viltz recounts that there was a campaign, at one time, to ensure those opportunities opened up. Her father was a bus driver for Long Beach Transit.
“We lived in the central area as we called it which is the sixth district. Didn’t think much about where we were. We were around other people similar to us. It was mostly African-Americans and Hispanics and people were mostly working class.”
For Max Viltz, there was another characteristic of her childhood neighborhood that she recalls nostalgically.
“One of the things I really appreciated…was the mix of people and how we were all connected and watched out for her each. Most of the parents knew each other so if you did something, they probably heard about it before you got home.”
Viltz concurs that it really does take a village.
“And Miss so and so down the street was able to discipline you in a way of scolding you perhaps but she was going to tell your mother.”
Life for Max Viltz changed
…at the age of thirteen when her parents separated.
“I ended up having more responsibilities at home in terms of having to take care of the younger kids.”
According to Viltz, the biggest impact of these responsibilities during her teenage years was a decision that came when she was eighteen. She left home and went to live with an older brother for six months. Faced with working to support herself, Viltz went to school at night at California State University, Long Beach as a Sociology Major and eventually graduated from the University of Redlands. She also received a Professional Designation in Government Contracts Management from UCLA.
“I heard about this job at McDonnell Douglas (The Boeing Company at Space and Communications Division in Huntington Beach, CA) for a secretary and I applied for the job and that’s where I started…and I ended up working in a government contracts management department.”
Viltz would go on to work for the company for more than twenty-five years; all experience that would come in handy as an entrepreneur.
Life for Max Viltz changed again
…during the later years of the McDonnell Douglas tenure during a trip to Egypt with her then husband. The tour leader was an Egyptologist out of Cornell University, Dr. Yosef Ben-Jochannan.
“He took African-Americans to Egypt to teach and give a better understanding of the African history in Egypt versus say Arab history.”
Dr. Ben, as he was affectionately called, recommended that those on the study trip return to their communities and begin study groups. That’s exactly what Max Viltz and her then husband did in 1988. They and others co-founded the African Cultural Research and Study Group of Long Beach. Programs included African Culture and History, African Drum and Dance, Rites of Passage, and the Annual Community Kwanzaa Event. That first trip to Africa had an impact on Max Viltz. It raised a special awareness for her.
“I think I became more aware of having a history from a place that people mostly talked negatively about. You know there wasn’t anything positive.”
All western eyes and ears would see and hear were starving children or children with distended stomachs and other negative images or they were they were the only images that were presented to them.
“So, to learn that we had this great culture or this great history with kings and queens and empires and all of these things were just amazing. And how we had not ever learned about that in school was just amazing to me. I just created a taste for wanting to learn more.
There were subsequent travels to Africa and collecting artifacts which led to opening Village Treasures, a gift shop, boutique, and gallery in 1997 as a part-time venture. Eventually, Max Viltz left her full-time position and took on Village Treasures as a full-time commitment. That decision was not taken lightly. It was a little scary for her.
“It was…because here I am, a pretty decent job with benefits and a regular schedule so to speak and I just decided that I loved what I was doing.”
Twenty years later
…and so many trips to Africa, community events, honors and non-profit board of director memberships, Max Viltz and Village treasures is still an important part of the Long Beach business and the African-American community. That’s not to say there haven’t been and still are challenges, both as a small business and a business with a special mission. One of those challenges is convincing African-Americans that the Afro-centric mission of a Village Treasures is important to their lives.
“…some of them may not value some of the items that I carry in the shop. We are diverse in our own group so that’s been a challenge. We all need to meet some common ground as African-Americans.”
Viltz goes on to discuss how other ethnic groups may be more cohesive because they understand their cultural roots.
“We all don’t agree as to where we come from and part of what’s going to save us is to understand who we are.”
Max Viltz and her cultural group are working to change that, especially with young people.
“That’s part of what our group is working on with the identity with young people and if they get a better education early as to who they are, perhaps they won’t go in some other negative direction because they’ll feel stronger about who they are as a people and have a connection to the homeland.”
To find out more
…about Village Treasures, visit HERE
Here’s a list of past and present Community involvement, Boards, and Awards for Max Viltz:
- Board Member (Secretary)/St. Mary Medical Center Board of Ambassadors
- Board Member/The Arts Councils of Long Beach
- Committee Member/International City Theatre (ICT) Community Partnership
- Assist “Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” Annual Black History Month Program with Andy Street Community Association
- Assist the Artistic Director for annual Pan African Film and Arts Festival/Los Angeles
- Host annual Long Beach Kwanzaa Celebration
- Assisted in establishing annual Black Heritage Festival at the Aquarium of the Pacific
- Provide training and mentoring to youth through Pacific Gateway Program
- Host Book signings and artist exhibitions
- Supports Mombasa Sister City Association
- American Business Women’s Association – 2004 Business Associate Nominee
- State of the Downtown Breakfast (DLBA) Business Award 2006
- Cal State Long Beach/Black Student Union: Recognition for support of Annual Consciousness Conference
- Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Pearl Award 2007
- Long Beach Business Journal Women’s Leadership Award 2008
- Long Beach NAACP Lillie V. Grigsby Award 2009
- Jordan High School/African-American History & Culture Club Awardee 2013
- Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc./Clarissa Manuel Foundation Visions of H.O.P.E. Award 2017
