Bush said the Smithsonian’s newest museum will inspire the nation to “go farther and get there faster” on its journey towards justice.
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Obama was joined at the museum by his wife, Michelle, and former Presidents George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.
“For a long time, the only thing we considered important, the singular thing we once chose to commemorate as history with a plaque, were the unmemorable speeches of two powerful men”, he said.
There are also many iconic items celebrating the achievements in sports, music, television and film including Michael Jackson’s fedora hat worn during his 1984 “Victory Tour”, boxer Muhammad Ali’s headgear, musician Chuck Berry’s Cadillac, baseball star Jackie Robinson’s bat, some of Olympian Gabby Douglas’ items as well as a statue honoring American athletes who held their hands up as a demonstration of solidarity during the 1968 Gold Medal ceremony. The museum’s curators traveled to find treasures to help paint the portrait of black America.
Inside, museum officials say they have almost 3,000 items occupying 85,000 square feet of exhibition space including exhibits like a Tuskegee Airmen training plane and the casket of Emmitt Till, a murdered African-American boy whose death helped rally the civil rights movement.
Other displays at the $540 million museum include a slave cabin from SC, a robe used by boxing great Muhammad Ali and the coffin of Emmett Till, whose 1955 murder in MS helped galvanise the civil rights movement.
The museum’s opening “finally marks the place and time where we’re finally recognized. and it’s about time”, said Shenise Foster of Alexandria, Virginia.
“I am overwhelmed. I’m humbled”, said Deborah Elam, president of the GE Foundation and chief diversity officer of General Electric, as she waited for the museum’s opening.
Euronews correspondent Stefan Grobe said: “The creators want the museum to be a place where all U.S. citizens can learn about the African American experience and what it means to their lives”.
“This is not a story of black people by black people but rather this says the way to think about America is through the lens of this community”, the museum’s founding director, Lonnie Bunch, told euronews.
He continued his message of the inclusion of African Americans in American history, calling it “an act of patriotism to understand where we’ve been”.
Bush signed the legislation in 2003 authorizing the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Obama has visited the museum twice ahead of its official opening.
The museum, the 19th and newest of the Smithsonians, opened to the public following the dedication ceremony. Obama, who is featured in exhibits in the museum, will cut the ribbon opening the building later on Saturday.
The Howard University “Showtime” marching band entertained as the crowd filled seats set up between the museum and the Washington Monument. “It’s going to be a testament to their work and a testament to so many of our ancestors that this museum will open on the Mall”.
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Ground was broken for the new museum in 2012.
