Tag Archives: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Your vision propels us forward! a message from NMAAMC

06/10/2011 Nativegrl77

It is a tremendous and rewarding challenge to build something the size and scope of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Your willingness to get involved in this historic project during these early stages is inspiring. It underscores your vision; your ability to see the entire scope of the plan, and the promise of things to come!

Equally important is the work your support makes possible. Just look for a moment at the Museum’s image above. You can see that you are helping to create a truly spectacular museum on the National Mall.

What will be featured inside will be equally exciting. A collection of exhibitions and treasures that will tell the entire, rich story of the African American experience and its role in our history. Simply put, the African American story is America’s story.

You can tell I am proud and excited about this Museum. I believe you share that pride and anticipation.

That is why I am asking for your financial support today. We cannot build this museum without your help. http://go.si.edu/site/R?i=mhj_5OJO7nPU690Zcjf6EA..

The entire project will cost $500 million, with Congress providing half of that amount. The remaining $250 million must be raised via private resources and, most importantly, from individual contributions from men and women who, like you, share the greater vision of what this Museum will be when we open our doors in 2015.

There are many good reasons to support the Museum: the powerful history and culture that will be presented in exhibitions and public programs; the opportunity to be part of something that will inspire and educate future generations; and the telling of this important story in the grand tradition of a Smithsonian museum.

Whatever your reasons, we are honored by your commitment to the Museum. Our campaign to build the Museum continues to gain momentum. With the help of supporters like you we remain on schedule to break ground in 2012.

However, the bottom line is that we need your steadfast support now and are very grateful to receive it. http://go.si.edu/site/R?i=mhj_5OJO7nPU690Zcjf6EA..

So, please, take a moment right now to make a contribution to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Again, thank you very much.

All the best,

Lonnie Bunch
Director

P.S. I just want to remind you of the great tax benefit your contribution to the Museum represents. Whatever amount you are able to generously contribute today is tax-deductible to the full extent allowed by the law. $250 million is a tremendous goal. We truly need and are grateful for your support.

~ Culture & History

NMAAHC Brings “Treasures” to Dallas for Juneteenth

06/10/2011 Nativegrl77

National Museum of
African American History and Culture
Brings “Treasures” to Dallas for Juneteenth

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture celebrates Juneteenth with a two-day program to help Dallas/Ft. Worth-area residents identify and preserve items of historical and cultural significance tucked away in the attics, closets and basements of their homes. Presented in collaboration with the Dallas Public Library, the event will feature presentations, hands-on activities and preservation tips.

The program will take place Saturday, June 18, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Sunday, June 19, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 1515 Young Street in Dallas. It will feature welcoming remarks by Lonnie Bunch, founding director of the museum, and Dallas Public Library interim director Corinne Hill. Free and open to the public, the event is the ninth in a series from the museum’s signature program “Save Our African American Treasures: A National Collections Initiative of Discovery and Preservation.” All are welcome.

Mary Ballard, senior textile conservator at the
Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute,
inspects an artifact during a “Treasures” event.

Participants can reserve in advance to bring up to three personal items for a 20-minute, one-on-one professional consultation with experts on how to care for them. The specialists will serve as reviewers, not appraisers, and will not determine items’ monetary values. Objects such as books, paper and textiles no larger than a shopping bag (furniture, carpets, firearms and paintings are excluded) can be reviewed. Those wishing to have items reviewed must make reservations by emailing treasures@si.edu or by calling toll free (877) 733-9599. Reservations are only required for those wishing a one-on-one consultation. Additional information is available at nmaahc.si.edu.

“We are extremely proud to bring ‘Save our African American Treasures’ to Dallas during Juneteenth weekend,” said Bunch. “We encourage people to become aware of what they have, to protect it and to preserve it so the story of African Americans in this country can be told. Nineteenth and 20th-century objects — family photographs, military uniforms, farm tools and wedding dresses — can help tell this story for future generations; if we do not act now to preserve these items, the tangible evidence of a critical component of American history will be lost.”

A participant from “Treasures” Atlanta meets with
senior objects conservator, Carol Grissom of the
Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute.
“We are so honored that the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture is bringing this outstanding program to the Dallas Public Library,” said Hill.

The “Treasures” program also includes the following activities throughout the day:

Marion Butts: A Lens on Dallas: Carol Roark, the Dallas Public Library’s manager of special collections, discusses its collection of photographs taken by one of the most important and prolific documentarians of African American life in the city.
Preservation Presentations: Informal basic preservation sessions will take place during the day. The sessions will provide information on preserving clothing and textiles, family photographs and papers, and digital memories. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions.
Hands-on Preservation: In this hands-on activity, participants are invited to learn how to properly store letters, pack garments and prepare photographs for preservation storage and presentation.

On Saturday, from 2 to 4 p.m., participants can meet 94.5 KSoul’s Kelli Simms.

Elaine Nichols, supervisory curator of culture at the
Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American
History and Culture, meets with 99 year old
Amelia Boynton Robinson during “Treasures” Atlanta.

“Save our African American Treasures” is made possible with support from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The grants also support the pre-design and construction of the museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., scheduled to open in 2015.

As a companion to the series, the museum has produced African American Treasures: A Preservation Guide, a 30-page guidebook that is distributed free to attendees to highlight the importance of proper preservation techniques. The guidebook is part of the “Treasures” kit. Also distributed will be white cotton gloves, archival tissue papers and archival documents sleeves to help people keep their personal treasures safe.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture was established in 2003 by an Act of Congress, making it the 19th Smithsonian Institution museum. Scheduled for completion in 2015, it will be built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., on a five-acre tract adjacent to the Washington Monument. Currently, during the pre-building phase, the museum is producing publications, hosting public programs and assembling collections. It is presenting exhibitions at other museums across the country and at its own gallery at the National Museum of American History. For more information about the museum, visit nmaahc.si.edu or call Smithsonian information at (202) 633-1000, (202) 633-5285 (TTY).

For information on the many free programs and services available at the Dallas Public Library, visit www.dallaslibrary.org. The Dallas Public Library operates the J. Erik Jonsson Central Library, 26 branch locations, Bookmarks in NorthPark Center and two bookmobiles. A library card is free for any Dallas resident.

~ Culture & History, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

National Museum of African American History and Culture

06/02/2011 Nativegrl77 1 Comment

For All The World To See:
Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sanitation workers assembled before Clayborn Temple
Ernest C. Withers, Sanitation Workers assemble in front of Clayborn
Temple for a solidarity march. Memphis, TN, March 28, 1968.
Ernest C. Withers, Sanitation Workers assemble in front of Clayborn

Civil rights leaders and activists were often exceptionally skillful image-makers, adept at capitalizing on the authority of pictures to edify, educate, and persuade. They also understood, and took advantage of, new visual technologies as well as society’s insatiable hunger for pictures. Through compelling photographs, television and film clips, and other historic artifacts, For All the World to See explores the role of visual culture — from the late 1940s to the mid-1970s — in shaping and transforming the struggle for racial equality and justice.

Curated by Maurice Berger, Ph.D. For All The World To See was organized by the Center for Art, Design and Visual Culture, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in partnership with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The exhibition opens June 10 and runs through November 24, 2011 in NMAAHC‘s gallery on level two at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. For information about this exhibition please click here.

~ Culture & History, ~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Let’s make history

12/02/2010 Nativegrl77

National Museum of African American History and Culture

Amid a sea of signs proclaiming, “I am a man,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. joined Memphis sanitation workers on strike. Just one week after this photo was taken, Dr. King was murdered.

Despite this tragic loss, men and women of all colors pushed forward and continued to fight for freedom and equality. More than 40 years after King’s assassination, Americans elected the first African American president, achieving a historic and cultural milestone that was centuries in the making.

You have an opportunity to make history, too, by joining me in building a lasting tribute to the story of African Americans past and present. The Smithsonian Institution is building a new National Museum of African American History and Culture to celebrate and honor those brave men and women who survived slavery, who endured extreme racism and violence and who pioneered the arts, sciences, music and sports.

We need Americans like you who have the courage and vision to help make this Museum something we can all be proud of. Congress is providing one-half of the funds to build this new Smithsonian Museum. We must raise another $250 million to meet our total goal of $500 million from individuals like you who understand that the story of African Americans is the story of America.

Your gift today of $25, $50 or whatever you can afford will help ensure that these stories from individuals to collective movements of the past and present are recorded and preserved for all time and for all the citizens of our great nation.

By studying and understanding the struggles and successes of African Americans through the decades, all Americans can explore the shifting definitions of American citizenship, liberty and equality.

Ultimately, the National Museum of African American History and Culture will be a place that reminds us of what we were, what challenges we still face and that guides us towards what we can become. Let us build it together.

Thank you for being our partner in building this great Museum.

Sincerely,

Adrienne Brooks
Director of Development
National Museum of African American History and Culture

P.S. If you haven’t joined as an NMAAHC Charter Member, please click here to join today!

~ Culture & History

NMAAHC Brings “Treasures” to the Detroit Nov. 20

11/18/2010 Nativegrl77

National Museum of
African American History and Culture
Brings “Treasures” to Detroit Nov. 20

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture will co-host a daylong program to help Detroit-area residents identify and preserve items of historical and cultural significance tucked away in the attics, closets and basements of their homes. Presented in collaboration with the Detroit Public Library, the event will feature presentations, hands-on activities and preservation tips.

The program will take place Saturday, Nov., 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., at the main branch of the library, 5201 Woodward Avenue, Detroit, and will feature welcoming remarks by Rex M. Ellis, the museum’s associate director for curatorial affairs and Jo Anne G. Mondowney, executive director of the library. Free and open to the public, the event is the eighth in a series from the museum’s signature program “Save Our African American Treasures: A National Collections Initiative of Discovery and Preservation.”

Mary Ballard, senior textile conservator at the
Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute,
inspects an artifact during a “Treasures” event.

Participants can reserve in advance to bring up to three personal items for a 20-minute, one-on-one professional consultation with experts on how to care for them. The specialists will serve as reviewers, not appraisers, and will not determine an item’s monetary value. Objects such as books, paper and textiles no larger than a shopping bag (furniture, carpets, firearms and paintings are excluded) can be reviewed. Those wishing to have items reviewed must make reservations by e-mailing treasures@si.edu or by calling toll free (877) 733-9599. Reservations are not required for those not wishing a one-on-one consultation. Additional information is available at nmaahc.si.edu.

“We are extremely proud to bring ‘Save our African American Treasures’ to Detroit,” said Lonnie G. Bunch, founding director of the museum. “We encourage people to become aware of what they have, to protect it and to preserve it so the story of African Americans in this country can be told. Nineteenth- and 20th-century objects — family photographs, military uniforms, farm tools and wedding dresses — can help tell this story for future generations; if we do not act now to preserve these items, the tangible evidence of a critical component of American history will be lost.”

A participant meets with senior objects conservator in Atlanta.

A participant from “Treasures” Atlanta meets with
senior objects conservator, Carol Grissom of the
Smithsonian’s Museum Conservation Institute.

“We are excited and pleased to provide Detroit area residents the opportunity to discover, preserve and celebrate their personal histories,” said Jo Anne G. Mondowney, executive director of the Detroit Public Library. Their participation in this worthwhile event will have a lasting and loving impact on generations yet unborn.”

As a key stop on the Underground Railroad, a major destination in the Great Migration, the city where the Motown sound was born and Rosa Parks called home, Detroit’s significance to the history of African Americans can not be overlooked. It is the artifacts of this rich history that “Treasures” seeks to preserve.

The “Treasures” program also includes the following sessions:

Preservation Presentations: Informal basic preservation sessions will take place during the day. The first session will provide information about the treasures in Detroit Public Library’s special collections. During the following session participants can learn about how to preserve textiles and how the National Museum of African American History and Culture will use textiles to tell stories in the new museum. The final two sessions of the day will be dedicated to the preservation of paper and digital photographs.

Hands-on Preservation: In this hands-on activity, participants are invited to learn how to properly store letters, pack garments and prepare photographs for preservation storage and presentation.

Oral Histories: Participants may record a brief personal memory, a family story or a memory of a historical event. Family members are encouraged to interview each other.

Also on hand at the event will be on-air personalities from Mix 93 FM who will give out door prizes and conduct call-ins to the station.

Future events will be held in Jackson, Miss. and New York City. Save our African American Treasures was made possible with support from the Bank of America Charitable Foundation and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The grants also support the pre-design and construction of the museum on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., scheduled to open in 2015.

As a companion to the series, the museum has produced African American Treasures: A Preservation Guide, a 30-page guidebook that is distributed free to attendees and to individuals, community groups and educators to highlight the importance of proper preservation techniques. The guidebook is part of the “Treasures” kit. Also distributed will be white cotton gloves, archival tissue papers and archival documents sleeves to help people keep their personal treasures safe.