Memories from the African American Museum

MEMORIES FROM THE AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MUSEUM

by Nia R.

Over the years, I have been to many of the Smithsonian Museums in Washington DC. I’ve admired the dresses first ladies wore on the days of their husbands’ inaugurations at the National Museum of American History, and I’ve observed in awe the quest to explore our expansive universe at the Air and Space Museum. The Smithsonian Museums do a great job at making knowledge and art accessible for everyone in the DC area, yet, for a long time, they decided to exclude groups of people from the historical narrative while showing art stolen from those same peoples. Historians and museum curators are still working to correct this false portrayal of U.S and world history. One of these changes was the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in its permanent location in 2016. It has a unique five-floor layout: three are marked by a guided walk through of African-American History, starting with the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, while the top two focus on cultural history, like music and poety. I had the opportunity to visit this museum in the summer of 2018, and it took my breath away. I was amazed by more parts of the museum than I can recount.

But, the portion of the museum experience that stuck the most with me was the “time-traveling” trip through African American history on the first three floors. Dark and tight, the space is structured so your eyes are drawn to the art and plaques full of information. After weaving through the Columbian Exchange and American Slavery sections, viewers reach the Civil War exhibit. More than just telling basic facts, the exhibit tells the story of soldiers and highlights the all Black regiments that fought for the segregated Union army. Many photos, both gruesome and triumphant, adorn the walls.

Sitting down, I looked around and admired how the museum brought together such a diverse group of people to study Black history. I was impacted, not only by the chronological exhibits themselves, but by the reactions of the people moving through history: I watched as a man silently stood at attention and souluted an all Black company of around 20 soldiers, whose story had been previously lost to history. They never received the honor they deserved, yet a little over 150 years later a man showed his appreciation for a nation that they helped build. How many other Black soldiers are missing photos? Missing textbook pages, museum exhibits? Who will remember them and honor their legacy?

While sitting on that same bench, I noticed a Black mother and her young daughter making their way around the exhibit. At each plaque, the mother helped her daughter sound out each of the words as they learned new stories together. The mom offered encouraging words as the girl sounded out the word “emancipation.” Education has been a guiding force in the African-American community. 175 years ago, learning to read was not a privilege this girl could have, as it was barred from slaves during the Antebellum period. As she stumbled through her reading, she exemplified how far Black people have come. Through education, her mom passed on the strength and resilience of the Black women before her. These stories of intergenerational respect, trauma, and humanity appear in every exhibit in the museum and deserve to be recognized.

I still remember getting up from my seat and feeling a sense of awe, not just for all that I learned from the stories in the museum, but also from the people around me. The man and the mother and daughter have stayed in my heart, just like the images of the people on the museum walls.