It’s always newsworthy when two US presidents attend a public event together and the official opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture was no exception. Others who spoke included Oprah (whose foundation contributed to the construction), former president George W. Bush (who signed the museum’s establishment into law in 2003), and Georgia Congressman John Lewis (who was the project’s most consistent champion).
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President Barack Obama on Saturday expressed hope that a new national museum showcasing the triumphs and tragedies of the African American experience will help to bring people together as the nation reels from recent racial upheaval.
Obama noted that the building reaches 21 meters below ground – “its roots spreading far wider and deeper than any tree on this mall” – a crypt of historical galleries that wind from slavery to civil rights to Black Lives Matter, ascending into upper floors that include testaments to African-American cultural contributions.
“Hopefully, this museum makes us talk to each other and listen to each other and see each other”, he added.
The Smithsonian says the museum is the only one in the USA exclusively focused on African-American life, history and culture, but organisers say it is also meant to capture the story of all Americans.
“This national museum helps to tell a richer and fuller story of who we are”, Obama said.
Either way, the reaction on the internet to the incident shows that while some Americans can still have a little fun, too many of us takes things way too serious.
He also said the museum will give people “a better understanding of themselves” by teaching them about others – slaves, the poor, black activists, teachers. It is not the underside of the American story. Black and white and Latino and Native American and Asian American – see how our stories are bound together.
“We are America”, Obama said.
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Calling it an “act of patriotism” to understand African- American history and the struggles of all Americans, Obama, 55, said “a great nation doesn’t shy away from the truth”.
