Deeply impactful exhibits, ticketed galas and educational events are expected ways to celebrate a world-class museum.
asserted
exhibits → ticket → museum
But at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which marks the 10-year anniversary of its opening on Thursday, the singing of Stevie Wonder’s “Happy Birthday” will give the event the flavor of a down-home family reunion.
asserted
singing → mark → reunion
“Our anniversary is really founded through this theme of ‘Welcome Home.
asserted
anniversary → found → theme
Our Legacy Continues
asserted
Legacy → continue → ?
,’” said Shanita Brackett, the museum’s acting director.
asserted
Brackett → say → ?
“It means we are planning our next 10, frankly 20 years of exhibitions right now.”
asserted
we → mean → exhibitions
Beginning with a full museum activation on Thursday, the celebrations extend through the rest of the weekend, both at the museum’s National Mall home and The Wharf, located along the historic Washington Channel of the Potomac River.
asserted
celebrations → begin → River
Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, the museum’s founding director who announced his plan to retire earlier this month, will headline “Understanding America,” a discussion to commemorate the anniversary.
asserted
who → announce → anniversary
The festivities come as the Smithsonian museum, affectionately called the “Blacksonian” by its most committed visitors and patrons, has faced outright hostility from President Donald Trump’s administration.
asserted
museum → come → administration
The president last year signed an executive order seeking to change a range of museums and landmarks supported by the federal government.
asserted
president → sign → government
The Interior Department has also removed dozens of displays from national monuments that highlighted the history of social activists, people of color, women and LGBTQ people, among others.
asserted
that → remove → others
The order instructed federal officials to work with Congress to bar the Smithsonian from using federal funding for exhibits that allegedly “degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal law.”
But the Smithsonian’s leadership, which responds to a board that includes lawmakers from both parties, private donors and Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, says they have continued their work without interference.
uncertain
they → instruct → interference
“We have not changed any exhibitions.
asserted
We → change → exhibitions
We haven’t changed our language.
asserted
We → change → language
We know that what we do is steeped in scholarship,” Brackett said of the African American museum.
asserted
Brackett → know → museum
‘No changes’ to museum’s mission amid targeting by Trump administration
The Smithsonian is supported by a mix of federal and private funding.
asserted
Smithsonian → support → funding
The institution’s significant funding and complex governance structure have made it difficult for the administration to directly influence its content, as officials have done with federal landmarks, which are maintained directly by the executive branch.
asserted
which → make → branch
That hasn’t stopped an outpouring of concern from supporters of the African American museum’s mission in response to any curatorial changes the museum has made over the last two years.
asserted
museum → stop → years
Administration officials have also expressed frustration at the Smithsonian’s resistance and have outlined new measures.
asserted
officials → express → measures
Trump has ordered to place signs in front of some Smithsonian buildings warning visitors they may experience exhibits with an inaccurate portrait of American history.
uncertain
they → order → history
Brackett said her museum is confident they can continue with the museum’s original vision “to capture and share the unvarnished truth of African American history and culture.”
asserted
they → say → history
“We know that Black history is a part of American history, and it’s our job to ensure that everyone who comes to this museum, who engages in our programming, who visits us online, understands exactly how all of this evolved, how the contributions of African Americans have advanced this country, and that’s really what people walk away with,” she said.
asserted
she → know → what
“There are no changes to exhibits other than rotating objects that need conservation,” she added.
asserted
she → be → conservation
Some visitors had expressed fears that exhibits, such as the casket of Emmett Till and a Greensboro lunch counter housed at the neighboring American History Museum, may have been altered to appease the administration’s concerns.
uncertain
exhibits → express → concerns
Brackett was clear: “Nothing has changed.”
asserted
Nothing → change → ?
A decade of honoring Black history after more than a century of advocacy
The idea of a landmark recognizing the contributions of African Americans on the National Mall goes back more than a century.
asserted
idea → honor → Mall
In 1915, Black Civil War veterans called on lawmakers to establish a landmark honoring their contributions to the war effort, often fighting for their own liberty.
asserted
veterans → call → liberty
The idea advanced in fits and starts over the 20th century until eventually calls to commemorate the legacy of the Civil Rights movement captured the interest of lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
asserted
calls → advance → Hill
The Museum of African American History and Culture was first approved by Congress in 2003 and opened its doors on Sept. 24, 2016.
asserted
Museum → approve → Sept.
At its opening ceremony, then-President Barack Obama urged African Americans to see their story as an integral thread in the broader American story.
asserted
Obama → urge → story
“It is a glorious story, the one that’s told here.
asserted
that → tell → ?
It is complicated, and it is messy, and it is full of contradictions, as all great stories are,” Obama said.
asserted
Obama → say → contradictions
“The very fact of this day does not prove that America is perfect, but it does validate the ideas of our founding: that this country — born of change, of revolution, of we the people — that this country can get better.”
asserted
country → prove → we
Since its opening a decade ago, the museum has welcomed close to 14 million visitors from 200 countries and has hosted more than 26,000 school groups, according to the Smithsonian.
uncertain
museum → welcome → Smithsonian
Across 10 floors — five above ground celebrating art and cultural achievements and five below ground exploring deep histories — visitors have learned of the complex history of African Americans in the U.S., a story that is by turns harrowing and triumphant, and how it fits into the broader narrative of American history.
asserted
it → celebrate → history
Visitors ‘yearn’ to take in Black museum’s offerings
A day before the anniversary, Shallary Duncan of Williamsport, Pennsylvania, visited the museum for the first time.
asserted
Duncan → yearn → time
“Quite honestly, with all of the changes in our country, it made me yearn to be here.
asserted
me → make → country
I don’t want to see any changes that would mitigate the reality of this experience,” said Duncan, a psychologist and self-described “history buff.”
asserted
Duncan → want → experience
“We know that African Americans have been in this country for as long as the country has been here, so it’s important for us that we are a part of a voice that says this is real, our history is real and we don’t want it to change,” she added.
asserted
she → know → voice
More than a dozen students from a consortium of historically Black colleges and universities also visited the museum on Wednesday, eager to learn from its exhibits.
asserted
students → visit → exhibits
…and 6 more, not listed.
The Aporia
