On Saturday, the first national museum dedicated to the history of black Americans opened in Washington DC.
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Former President George W. Bush signed the law authorising the construction in 2003.
The Smithsonian’s 19th and latest addition to its sprawling museum and research complex is the first national museum tasked with documenting the uncomfortable truths of the country’s systematic oppression of black people, while also honouring the integral role of African-American culture. “Hopefully it can be something that can bring people together rather than divide, because it tells America’s story, both good and bad”.
The opening came amid a new wave of racial tensions especially between black people and police, following the police shooting deaths of black men in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and Charlotte, North Carolina, earlier this month.
The event was a joyous one, one that marked the end of a century-long quest to open a national museum celebrating African-American achievements.
Officials said the chronicling of slavery and freedom are the centerpiece of the museum. “But too often, we ignored or forgot the stories of millions upon millions of others, who built this nation just as surely, whose humble eloquence, whose calloused hands, whose steady drive helped to create cities, erect industries, build the arsenals of democracy”.
And that block, I think, explains why this museum is so necessary, because that same object reframed, put in context, tells us so much more.
Former President Bill Clinton, Vice President Joe Biden and Georgia Congressman John Lewis, who co-sponsored legislation authorising the museum, were present at the ceremony. “The single thing we chose to remember as history was the unmemorable speech of two powerful men”, said the President.
The bell the Obamas rang with Bonner and several members of her family came from the First Baptist Church in Williamsburg, Virginia.
The efforts of the Black Lives Matter movement to highlight the stream of killings by police of black and Latino suspects, the presidency of Mr Obama and the backlash against him, have all combined to elevate the issue within the media, and public discourse. It will be returned to the church for its 240th anniversary later this year.
Aflac CEO Dan Amos, who could not attend Saturday’s ceremony due to scheduling conflicts, said in a statement that Aflac’s “contribution was a great way to demonstrate our commitment to national history, our culture and the wonderful diversity that makes us a great country”.
The 400,000-square-foot museum, designed by British-Ghanaian architect David Adjaye, strikes a unique shape on the Mall with its three-tiered bronze exterior panels inspired by an African wooden column.
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White House reporter Darlene Superville has covered the Obama presidency for The Associated Press since 2009.
