National Museum of African American History & Culture, NMAAHC, African American History, Black History, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMN

The Smithsonian’s African American Museum Tells the Myriad Stories of Black Heroism – Hyperallergic

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The Smithsonian’s African American Museum Tells the Myriad Stories of Black Heroism – Hyperallergic


At the newly opened National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., there is a section on the top floor designated the “Culture Galleries,” which presents examples of African American contributions to visual art, music, dance, spoken word poetry, and other performance. The area detailing the history of the African people brought to these shores who eventually went on to create unique ways of living here is located below street level, at the foundation of the building. In the middle, the layout includes is a floor of “Community Galleries,” which display exhibits on sports, military experience, faith, formal education, and examples of different residential neighborhoods with majority black populations. Other floors contain a library, classrooms, a family history center with resources for conducting research, a theater, a café, and, of course, a gift shop.
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National Museum of African American History & Culture, NMAAHC, African American History, Black History, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMNPhoto | Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of African American History and Culture Architectural Photography

National Museum of African American History & Culture, NMAAHC, African American History, Black History, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMNPhoto | Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of African American History and Culture Architectural Photography

National Museum of African American History & Culture, NMAAHC, African American History, Black History, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMNPhoto | Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of African American History and Culture Architectural Photography

National Museum of African American History & Culture, NMAAHC, African American History, Black History, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMNPhoto | Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of African American History and Culture Architectural Photography

National Museum of African American History & Culture, NMAAHC, African American History, Black History, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMNPhoto | Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of African American History and Culture Architectural Photography

National Museum of African American History & Culture, NMAAHC, African American History, Black History, KOLUMN Magazine, KOLUMNPhoto | Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of African American History and Culture Architectural Photography



The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is a Smithsonian Institution museum established in December 2003. The museum’s building, designed by David Adjaye, is on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.. It has close to 37,000 objects in its collection related to such subjects as community, family, the visual and performing arts, religion, civil rights, slavery, and segregation.

Early efforts to establish a federally owned museum featuring African-American history and culture can be traced to 1915, although the modern push for such an organization did not begin until the 1970s. After years of little success, a much more serious legislative push began in 1988 that led to authorization of the museum in 2003. A site was selected in 2006. The museum opened September 24, 2016, in a ceremony led by U.S. President Barack Obama. (Wikipedia)