On September 24, the latest Smithsonian Institute had its grand opening in Washington, D.C. The National Museum of African American History and Culture is planted on a five acre site on 1400 Constitution Ave NW. Since the bronze-colored building is surrounded by iconic monuments such as the White House, the National Mall and the U.S Capitol, the museum has a front row seat to history.
Holding 36,000 artifacts, the museum is meant to represent the past, present, and future of the African American experience. The lead designer, David Adjaye, and lead architect, Philip Freelon, worked together to design and deliver the museum. With their designs, they won the international competition for designing and delivering a museum for the people of United States in April of 2009. Because of the cultural backgrounds and previous creations of the designers and architects, there are many elements from Africa and America that influenced the design of the building and its structure.
The grand opening of the museum created history within itself by having the first black president of the United States giving a speech. The NMAAHC is the only museum devoted to just the documentation of African American history and culture. With this museum making the effort to promote the contributions of African Americans, junior Melanie Padron believes that “It’s important to have a museum such as the NMAAHC because the stories of the African Americans aren’t really told from their perspectives.” Before the inauguration of the museum, celebrations occurred all across the city during the weekend. Many others spoke during the opening of the museum such Oprah Winfrey, Will Smith, Supreme Court Justice John G. Roberts Jr., former president George W. Bush, and the museum director Lonnie Bunch, all of whom had a hand in the 2003 establishment of the museum.
Inside of the museum, visitors walk the path from slavery to the Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter. Having history from then and now was key to the purpose of telling the story of African Americans especially because of the racial tension occurring today. American History teacher, Mr. Mamel said, “The presence of the museum on the Mall means we cannot ignore and must confront issues that continue to divide us.” This shows how the NMAAHC is effectively being a resource that gives people the knowledge of the importance of the the past, present and future of African Americans.
The bronze-colored Smithsonian institution is opened to all, and on the NMAAHC website, it expresses how they want to have everyone participating, collaborating and learning more about the African American history and culture. If you want to visit the museum, go to https://nmaahc.si.edu/ to plan your trip and to view the story of the long trials and tribulations of the African Americans.