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.
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CCTV America’s Sean Callebs reports.
President Barack Obama hails the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture for telling ‘richer and fuller story of who we are’.
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.
“We are not a burden on America”. “As Americas, we rightfully pass on the tales of the giants”.
“This is the place to understand how protests and love of country don´t merely coexist, but inform each other”, Obama said.
The nation’s first black president opened the new museum today, joined by first lady Michelle Obama and Ruth Bonner, a 99-year-old direct descendent of a slave, and her family.
America’s newest museum brings to life all the pain and tribulations of the black experience and its creators expect many visitors will be shaken by what they see and hear.
Thousands gathered on the National Mall to watch the museum officially open its doors and to be among the first inside – if they were lucky enough to get the much-coveted opening day tickets.
“I was honored to sign the bill authorizing the construction of this national treasure”, Bush said.
“This place is more than a building, it is a dream come true”, Lewis said.
There, a circular waterfall – symbolizing the water path that many enslaved African-Americans took to freedom – cascades down the center of the room from an oculus, or circular window, which will allow sunlight to diffuse underground onto benches strategically located around the calming waters. A great nation does not hide from its history, Bush said, “it faces its flaws and corrects them”.
“I’m just elated and can’t express how much joy and gratitude I have to be here today and witness history”, said Master Sgt. Donald Sparks of Houston, who just finished a yearlong deployment in Iraq. “This museum tells the truth: that a country founded on the promise of liberty, held millions in chains”.
“I feel a sense of pride and a sense of humbleness because of all the sacrifices that so many people made to make this happen”, said audience member Karmello Colman, who trekked halfway across the country for the ceremony from Kansas City, Missouri. Millions of donors, known and unknown, contributed $315 million in private funds ahead of the opening.
Oprah Winfrey and Will Smith engaged in a poetry slam.
The building, designed by British architect David Adjaye, sits on Washington’s National Mall, the BBC reported.
Master Sgt. Donald Sparks of Houston, who just finished a yearlong deployment in Iraq, said he was eager to see the exhibits inside the museum.
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Elected in a wave of optimism in 2008, Obama pledged to unify, often repeating that he is not the president of black Americans but of all Americans.
