NMAAHC Curator Dr. Rhea Combs Discusses Her '100 Years, 100 Images' Exhibit
Over 1,000,000 people have visited the National Museum of African American History & Culture since its opening.
The museum announced the accomplishment this past Monday on its website.
"The opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture was a 13-year journey to foster a broader understanding of the black experience in a national and international context," Lonnie Bunch, the museum's founding director, said in a statement. "It has truly become a place of healing, reconciliation and celebration where people can embrace not only African-American history and culture, but how that layered history has shaped America's identity."
The feat is incredible, especially considering the museum has only been open for a little over four months (September 24, 2016), with visitors often staying there for six hours or more, compared to 75 minutes to two hours for most museums.
But the milestone is also well-deserved, with the museum having over 37,000 objects that displays everything from Chuck Berry's 1973 Cadillac Eldorado to compositions written by John Coltrane, along with other artifacts shown throughout the multi-level building. Not to mention the fact that it took over 100 years to create.
"We wanted to make a building that was between those worlds of the Washington memorial grounds and the museum grounds. So, the building is a museum, it’s a monument and it is really something that is between many things," David Adjaye, the museum's architect said. "Bronze was chosen because it is the material of many artifacts, which is celebrated on the Monument Grounds, but also because bronze is a key material in West Africa. There’s something very beautiful about that."
The museum hosted this year's Peace Ball, which featured performances from Solange and Esperanza Spalding, as well as guest appearances from Van Jones, Angela Davis and Melissa Harris-Perry.
Okayplayer was in attendance for the Peace Ball, where writer Elijah Watson wrote that the museum represented black resilience.
"That in the face of ongoing mistreatment and oppression, black people continue to create culture time and time again, contributing so damn much to the fucking fabric of American history and identity, and rarely, if ever, receiving any credit," he wrote.
Congratulations to the NMAAHC!
