Design
The Unlikely Trick of the Smithsonian's New African American Museum
The Smithsonian's newest museum—and the last on the National Mall—is deceptively large.
When the National Museum of African American History and Culture opens its doors to visitors on Saturday, it will fulfill a promise made in December, 2003. That’s when Congress passed the act establishing the national museum.
The dream goes back much further. In 1915, black veterans from the Union Army assembled in Washington, D.C., to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the end of the Civil War. They formed a committee to found a museum devoted to African-American history and culture, but those efforts never saw fruition.