Museum Watch: A Treasure Trove of African American History

On September 24, President Obama will be on hand for the opening of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, a 400,000-square-foot building on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The nine levels (including four below ground) contain exhibition galleries, an education center, a theatre, a café, a reflecting pool, and a light-filled memorial area for quiet reflection. The museum focuses on how the African American experience helped shape the country, and how the struggle of African Americans has impacted fights for freedom around the world. The more than 34,000 artifacts include a slave cabin, Rosa Parks’s dress, Chuck Berry’s Cadillac, and Nat Turner’s Bible. Says the museum’s founding director, Lonnie Bunch, “This is a place that transcends the boundaries of race and culture that divide us and becomes a lens into a story that unites us all.”  For more information visit nmaahc.si.edu.