Our History is American History - Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC)

Did you know there was a Bible Museum in DC? I haven't been yet but maybe one day I will go. Funny thing about me, I don't watch biblical movies anymore. Those creative folks have a way of recreating the bible to either fit a certain narrative and/or create scenarios that are not documented or true. For example, there was a made for TV movie shown many years ago about Noah and the Great Flood. In this movie, Noah and Lot were best friends. I never understood why they felt the need to insert this impossible scenario into the movie. Anyhoo, that's just one example. One thing that is true from the bible that we've gotten correct is God is a promoter of monuments and record keeping. If you look in the Old Testament, more often than not, when something significant happened to someone in the bible, they erected a memorial or monument that would be a witness to the next generations. In the 1st & 2nd Book of Kings, the reigns of all the Kings of Israel and Judah were recorded in the book of annals. So apparently God loves documentation. What God does not love is lies and liars. Rewriting history makes one a liar, don't you think? 

The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), is a Smithsonian Institution Museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It was established in 2003 and opened its permanent home in 2016 with a ceremony led by President Barack Obama. The NMAAHC is a state-of-the-art building that addresses nearly every aspect of the African American experience, covering the arts, slavery, the Civil Rights Movement, athletics and much more. The building’s exterior, conceived by Ghanaian-born architect David Adjaye, is artfully made up of a three-tiered, bronze-colored screen. This lattice pays tribute to the intricate ironwork forged by enslaved African Americans in the southern United States.

The NMAAHC is the world's largest museum dedicated to African-American history and culture and in 2022, it welcomed 1,092,552 visitors, becoming the second-most visited Smithsonian Museum, and eighth in the list of most-visited museums in the United States. The museum has more than 40,000 objects in its collection, although only about 3,500 items are on display. The 350,000-square-foot (33,000 m2), 10 story building (five above and five below ground) and its exhibits have won critical praise. Standout items include a shawl given to Harriet Tubman by Queen Victoria, training aircraft used by the Tuskegee Institute, an invitation to President Obama’s 2009 inauguration and a boombox owned by Chuck D of Public Enemy. Also housed in the NMAAHC, is the Sweet Home Café which showcases the rich culture and history of the African American people with traditional, authentic offerings as well as present-day food traditions. The museum is also available for private events and multiple event venues and a theater.

The NMAAHC is the culmination of a centuries-long struggle to recognize the importance of the black community in the social fabric of American life with its exhibits, galleries, administrative spaces, theatre space and collections storage space for the NMAAHC. The museum rethinks the role of what a civic institution could be in the 21st century, offering new modes of user experience and engagement while accommodating an evolving collection and wide range of artefacts.