Smithsonian secretary David Skorton hopes the new National Museum of African American History and Culture can help heal the persistent problem of racism in the US. "Opening now, at a time when social and political discord remind us that racism is not, unfortunately, a thing of the past, this museum can, and I believe will, help us advance the public conversation," he explains.
The museum will be inaugurated on 24 September by President Barack Obama, who got a sneak peek of the exhibits yesterday (14 September).
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. Other displays include a slave cabin from South Carolina, a robe and boxing gloves worn by Muhammmad Ali, the coffin of Emmett Till, whose 1955 murder in Mississippi helped galvanise the civil rights movement, and the dress worn by famed contralto Marion Anderson as she sang at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday in 1939 after being denied the right to perform at the Constitution Hall because of her race.
Slave shackles are seen in a display case at the National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall in Washington, DCKevin Lamarque/ReutersWorkers put finishing touches to the Point of Pines Plantation slave cabinKevin Lamarque/ReutersA lash that was used to punish slaves is on display in the Slavery and Freedom GalleryChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesA technician adjusts the lighting on Harret Tubman's shawl, given to her by Queen VictoriaChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesAn early log cabin that housed freed slaves and a preserved slave cabinChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesA statue of Colorado pioneer and former slave Clara Brown is on display next to a preserved slave cabinChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesA statue of former slave and member of the US House of Representatives Robert Smalls (R-SC)Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesRobes belonging to a member of the Ku Klux KlanChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesAn old guard tower from the Louisiana State PenitentiaryChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesThe Spirit of Tuskegee, a PT-13 Stearman biplane flown by Tuskegee Airmen training to fight in WWII, hangs from the ceiling above the concourse galleriesChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesA dress worn by civil rights pioneer Rosa ParksChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesGuests sample dishes at the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture's Sweet Home CafeChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesGuests sample dishes like Son-of-a-Gun stew, pan-roasted oysters, smoked haddock, corn croquettes with a gribiche sauce, slow cooked collards and other traditional foodsChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesDiners at the Sweet Home Cafe can sit under images of men and women conducting lunch counter sit-ins to protest against segregationChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesVideo screens and an interactive tableChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesVisitors are able to add their stories to the museum's archive in booths on the concourse levelChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesStatues of Venus and Serena WilliamsChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesNine of the 10 Olympic medals won by American track and field athlete Carl LewisChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesA statue of the salute given by athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos during their medal ceremony at the 1968 Summer OlympicsChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesJournalists arrive at The Oprah Winfrey TheatreChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesA theatre shows a film about the history of black players in baseballChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesA display of costumes, props and posters related to black actors and filmsChip Somodevilla/Getty Imagesllas McDaniel Jr, the son of Bo Diddley, puts his arm around former backing singer Gloria Jolivet as they stand in front of a display about the music legendKevin Lamarque/ReutersChuck Berry's candy-apple red 1973 Cadillac EldoradoChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesInstruments, costumes and other artefacts, including the Funkadelic P-Funk MothershipChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesA platinum record for Prince's 1999 album and a James Brown posterChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesDisplays fill the 1968 and Beyond gallery in the museumChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesA dress belonging to Oprah Winfrey is on display in the 1968 and Beyond galleryChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesDisplays about black power and the Nation of IslamChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesA set of Dr Ben Carson's operating scrubsChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesA pair of Nike Air sneakers hand-painted with the face of US President Barack ObamaKevin Lamarque/Reuters
"This museum on the National Mall, or as we all call it America's front yard, tries to fulfil the dreams of so many generations who believed that America would be made better if it understood, if it grappled with, if it immersed itself in the African-American experience " said Lonnie Bunch, founding director of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture.
The building, designed by Ghanaian-born architect David Adjaye, is based on a three-tiered crown on an African sculpture. The museum's outer layer consists of 3,600 bronze-coloured aluminium panels designed to evoke ornate ironwork created by enslaved craftsmen in New Orleans.
The Washington Monument is seen behind the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DCJim Watson/AFPThe crown on the head of this sculpture by Nigerian artist Olowe of Ise helped inspire the design of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and CultureChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesKevin Lamarque/ReutersChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesChip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesSteel and glass create patterns and reflections inside the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and CultureChip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Black Civil War veterans first proposed an African-American museum in 1915. Congress approved its creation in 2003, and construction of the building took almost four years. Three days of opening festivities will include concerts with such artistes as Public Enemy, Living Colour and Meshell Ndegeocello.
Although workers are still putting finishing touches to the museum, Bunch is confident it would be ready in time for the opening. "It's a piece of cake," he said. A Smithsonian spokesman said 200,000 timed passes have been snapped up, with no admissions available until November.
