Barack Obama opens historic African American Museum in Washington
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The first black president of the United States cut the ribbon to inaugurate the 37,000-square-metre, bronze-clad edifice before thousands of spectators, who gathered in the nation’s capital to witness the historic opening.
“Beyond the majesty of the building, what makes this occasion so special is the larger story it contains,” said Mr Obama at the star-studded public ceremony that included the likes of Stevie Wonder and Oprah Winfrey.
“African-American history is not somehow separate from our larger American story. It’s not the underside of the American story,” he said.
“It is central to the American story.”
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.
The 36,000 items in the collection range from trade goods used to buy slaves in Africa to a segregated railway car from the 1920s and a red Cadillac convertible belonging to rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Chuck Berry.
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.
The 36,000 items in the collection range from trade goods used to buy slaves in Africa to a segregated railway car from the 1920s and a red Cadillac convertible belonging to rock ‘n’ roll pioneer Chuck Berry.
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