Tag Archives: Constitution Avenue

~ Culture & History

A Beautiful Mix — Art & History …NMAAHC

10/10/2026 Nativegrl77

The feature picture is called “The Faces of My People” by Margaret Burroughs b.1917 and made of woodcut on paper.

National Museum of American History

The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey — Where Art and History Intersect

Organized by the Bernard and Shirley Kinsey Foundation for the Arts and Education
NMAAHC Gallery, National Museum of American History

Throughout their over 40-year marriage, collectors Bernard and Shirley Kinsey have celebrated their heritage by seeking unusual souvenirs. From an early version of the Emancipation Proclamation to correspondence between Malcolm X and Alex Haley, the couple has amassed a trove of rare artifacts and artwork that spans four centuries and embodies the hardships and triumphs of the African American experience. Originally housed in a wine cellar in the Kinsey’s Los Angeles home, items from their private collection form The Kinsey Collection.

The Faces of My People
Margaret Burroughs (b. 1917)
Woodcut on paper

Over 100 artifacts, documents, and artwork spanning some 400 years of history will be on display in NMAAHC’s exhibition The Kinsey Collection: Shared Treasures of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey — Where Art and History Intersect. Select items from the extraordinary collection of Bernard and Shirley Kinsey, originally housed in their Los Angeles home, will illustrate the hardships and triumphs of the African American experience.

Organized by the Bernard and Shirley Kinsey Foundation for the Arts and Education. The exhibition will honor the lives of famous African Americans such as Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as those whose history is not as well known. The Kinsey Collection will use objects including slave shackles, photographs, and written documents from the periods of slavery through the Civil Rights movement.

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NMAAHC

12/12/2013 Nativegrl77

2013 has been an exciting year for us!
Since our ground breaking in February 2012, the Museum has been taking shape at our construction site on the National Mall, located at the corner of 14th Street and Constitution Avenue NW, in Washington, DC.
Just before Thanksgiving, we installed by crane two signature objects — a Southern Railway railroad car (segregated) and a 1930s guard tower from Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola — too massive to be installed after the Museum is built. These will be a part of our inaugural exhibition on segregation.
As construction continues, the beams and pillars are beginning to rise. When finished, the Museum will be nearly 400,000 square feet, crowned by a 3-tiered bronze colored corona, but we still need additional funds to reach the finish line.
Can I count on your help? Please consider making a special, year-end tax-deductible gift to the Museum.
Your support is vital to preserving and promoting the cultural legacy of African Americans. Imagine seeing firsthand a PT-13 Stearman Bi-plane actually used to train Tuskegee pilots, viewing the lace shawl Queen Victoria gifted to Harriet Tubman, or enjoying a presentation of jazz music from the Harlem Renaissance!
With artifacts like these and more, the Museum will be a place that becomes a lens into a story that unites as all. To make this possible, Carmen, please consider making a tax-deductible donation today and ensure we stay on schedule to open the Museum’s doors in just a few short years.
Thank you for all you’ve done to support the Museum so far!

Sincerely,
Signature

Lonnie G. Bunch
Director

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You Are Invited to a Panel Discussion at National Archives this Thursday

04/11/2013 Nativegrl77

One Hundred Years: From the Emancipation Proclamation to the March on Washington

Explore the journey from slavery to freedom between the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and the 1963 March on Washington.

Thursday, April 11, 2013, 7:00 pm

National Archives, William G. McGowan Theater 7^th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC Metro: Archives-Navy Memorial-Penn Quarter

John Franklin, Community and Constituent Services, National Museum of African American History and Culture, will moderate a panel discussion about the Emancipation Proclamation and the continuing struggle for freedom, justice, and equality during Reconstruction, as well as the Tilden-Hayes Compromise and Jim Crow laws.

Panelists include:

C.R. Gibbs, public historian, scholar, and author
Clarence Lusane, professor of political science, American University
Roger Davidson, professor of history, Coppin State University
Frank Smith, director of the African American Civil War Memorial and Museum

FREE ADMISSION

For more information, visit www.archives.gov, send an email to public.program@nara.gov or call 202.357.5000.

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Nearly 400,000 Square-feet! ::: Lonnie G. Bunch at The NMAAHC

04/01/2013 Nativegrl77 2 Comments

NMAAHC Construction site on Feb 13, 2013

Construction photo taken on February 13, 2013. Photo Credit: Michael R. Barnes, Smithsonian,NMAAHC

It takes a big space to tell a big story. That’s why the National Museum of African American History and Culture will be nearly 400,000 square feet!

As you read these words, the massive excavation effort continues daily at our prime location on the National Mall at 14^th Street and Constitution Avenue NW in Washington, D.C. When the foundation is ready, when the walls have risen, when the 3-tiered corona is in place — we take our place as the newest museum in the world-renowned Smithsonian family. I promise you that the history inside our doors will be as grand, exciting, and powerful as the building itself.

As we move the Museum ever closer to its 2015 Grand Opening, I want to be sure you know how much we appreciate your financial support.

Our task of raising $250,000 million from private resources and individuals is certainly ambitious. However, I am pleased to report that so far more than 47,800 members and donor share your desire to discover, explore and present the African American experience for visitors from around the world to see and understand. And we are adding more Charter Members every day!

Now I am hoping you will continue to help us build this great museum by making a contribution today. We really do need your ongoing support to reach our goal.

Together we are building a museum where exhibitions and public programs will inspire and educate future generations. Imagine seeing firsthand a PT-13 Stearman Bi-plane actually used to train Tuskegee pilots … viewing the shawl given to Harriet Tubman by Queen Victoria … or enjoying a music or dance presentation celebrating African American musical and cultural heritage.

But before that day arrives in 2015, you and I must ensure that we are doing all we can to bring this new museum to our nation — and the world!

So, please, help us meet our goal of $250 million and make your contribution to the Museum now. We truly appreciate it. Thank you.

	All the best,

	Lonnie G. Bunch Director

P.S. Nearly 400,000-square-feet of power, pain, beauty, triumph and more — that is what Americans and visitors from around the world will find when they walk through doors of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Thank you so much for helping us build this fabulous museum!

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NMAAHC and A Southern Railway … segregated

02/27/2013 Nativegrl77

WITNESS THE INSTALLATION OF THE MUSEUM’S FIRST OBJECTS INTO THE MUSEUM ON THE NATIONAL MALL

A Southern Railway (segregated) car built in 1920 and a 1930s-era guard tower from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

Guard Tower at Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola

Where: Our construction site located at Constitution Ave and 14^th Streets NW, Washington, DC Metro: Smithsonian or Federal Triangle

The National Museum of African American History and Culture will install two of its signature objects in the museum’s Constitution Avenue construction site on Sunday, Nov. 17. The objects are the Museum’s Southern Railway railroad car (segregated) and a 1930s-era guard tower from the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

A convoy of trucks will transport the 80-ton rail car and the 21-foot tall guard tower to the museum’s Constitution Avenue construction site. Cranes will lower the objects 60 feet below ground level into the museum where they will be kept while the building’s upper floors and roof are completed. Both objects will be featured in the museum’s inaugural exhibition on segregation.

You are welcome to view these events from the grassy hill on Madison Drive across from the site. This is a non-ticketed, informal viewing area that will be open to the public.