Nearly 400,000 Square-feet! ::: Lonnie G. Bunch at The 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 14th 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.
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! |
U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA)
Lisy Corporation Issues Voluntary Recall on Undeclared Soy in 5 Seasoning Blends
Background Checks 101
Check out this infographic for everything you need to know about how universal background checks can help us prevent gun violence.
by Think Progress
- Guns Kill More Americans than War
- Background Check System Has Blocked Dangerous People from Getting Guns
- Gaps in the Gun Background Check System Put Us All at Risk
- Universal Background Checks Are Easy and Hassle-Free

Arkadi Gerney is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress. Kendall Bills is a Special Assistant for the External Affairs team at the Center.
Endnotes
[1] “PBS NewsHour: Shields and Gerson on Cabinet Noms, Gun Laws, Boehner’s Leadership,” December 21, 2012, available at http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/politics/july-dec12/shieldsgerson_12-21.html.
[2] Compiled using: 1968–1980 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates from Figure 1, “Observed and predicted firearm- and motor-vehicle—related injury deaths, by year — United States, 1968–2005,” available at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00023655.htm#00000191.gif (last accessed February 2013); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “WISQARS Injury Mortality Reports, 1981-1998,” available at http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate9.html (last accessed February 2013); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “WISQARS Fatal Injury Reports, National and Regional, 1999 – 2010,” available at http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate10_us.html (last accessed February 2013); Donna L. Hoyert and Xu Jiaquan, “Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2011,” National Vital Statistics Reports 61 (6) (2012): 40–42, available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr61/nvsr61_06.pdf.
[3] Compiled using: Anne Leland and Mari-Jana “M-J” Oboroceanu, “American War and Military Operations Casualties: Lists and Statistics” (Washington: Congressional Research Service, 2010), available at http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/natsec/RL32492.pdf; “iCasualties: Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom Casualties,” available at http://www.icasualties.org (last accessed February 2013).
[4] Michael Bowling and others, Background Checks for Firearms Transfers, 2009–Statistical Tables (Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 2010), available at http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/html/bcft/2009/bcft09st.pdf. Supplemental data from: Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Operations 2010 (U.S. Department of Justice, 2010), available at http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics/reports/2010-operations-report/2010-operations-report-pdf; Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Operations 2011 (U.S. Department of Justice, 2011), available at http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics/reports/2011-operations-report/operations-report-2011.
[5] Federal Bureau of Investigation, National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) Operations 2011.
[6] “Federal Denials: Reasons Why the NICS Section Denies,” available at http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/nics/reports/20130205_denials.pdf.
[7] Philip J. Cook and Jens Ludwig, “Guns in America: Results of a Comprehensive National Survey on Firearms Ownership and Use” (Washington: Police Foundation, 1996), available at http://www.policefoundation.org/sites/pftest1.drupalgardens.com/files/Cook%20et%20al.%20%281996%29%20-%20Guns%20in%20America.pdf.
[8] Caroline Wolf Harlow, Firearm Use by Offenders (Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 2001), available at http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/ascii/fuo.txt.
[9] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “WISQARS Fatal Injury Reports, National and Regional, 1999 – 2010,” available at http://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate10_us.html (last accessed February 2013).
[10] Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, “Report of Active Firearms Licenses – License Type by State Statistics,” January 10, 2013, available at http://www.atf.gov/about/foia/download/ffl-type-by-state-2013/0113-ffl-type-by-state.pdf.
[11] U.S. Postal Service, “Postal Facts 2012” (2012), available at http://about.usps.com/future-postal-service/postalfacts-2012.pdf.
[12] McDonald’s, “Financial Highlights,” available at http://www.aboutmcdonalds.com/mcd/investors/financial_highlights.html (last accessed February 2013).
[13] “Loxcel Starbucks Store Map FAQ,” available at http://www.loxcel.com/sbux-faq.html (last accessed February 2013).
To speak with our experts on this topic, please contact:
Print: Katie Peters (economy, education, health care, gun-violence prevention) 202.741.6285 or kpeters1@americanprogress.org
Print: Anne Shoup (foreign policy and national security, energy, LGBT issues) 202.481.7146 or ashoup@americanprogress.org
Print: Crystal Patterson (ethnic media, immigration) 202.478.6350 or cpatterson@americanprogress.org
Print: Madeline Meth (women’s issues, poverty, Legal Progress) 202.741.6277 or mmeth@americanprogress.org
TV: Lindsay Hamilton 202.483.2675 or lhamilton@americanprogress.org
Radio: Madeline Meth 202.741.6277 or mmeth@americanprogress.org
Web: Andrea Peterson 202.481.8119 or apeterson@americanprogress.org
President Obama Speaks on Protecting Our Children from Gun Violence





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