I do have a suggestion for a place to contact that may be able to help you,
although it's definitely not east of the Mississippi!  At any rate:  there's
an organization in S.F. called the Center for African and African-American
Art & Culture, and perhaps they will be able to refer you on to the
appropriate contacts.

Kola Akintola-Thomas, Director
Center for African and African-American Art & Culture
762 Fulton Street
San Francisco, CA  94102
Ph:  (415) 928-8546
Fax: (415) 928-8549
E-mail:  none that I know of

Also, try using Yahoo! or any other search engine, and use "art appraisers"
or the like as your key phrase.

Good luck!

Tchira Seligman, Public Relations Associate
The Jewish Museum San Francisco