The 100-Year Mission To Create
The National Museum Of African American History And Culture
By Robert L. Wilkins

Another historic crusade for John Lewis

More than 23 years ago, U.S. Rep. John Lewis took a reporter from this newspaper to a venerable red brick building on the National Mall for which he had great plans.

“You could put a whole slave ship in here,” the Atlanta Democrat said as he walked through the long, two-story grand hall of the Arts and Industries building, located just east of the Smithsonian Castle. “You could put a Greyhound bus in here.”

Lawmakers in June 1993 were on the verge of passing a bill that would have converted the cavernous 19th-century structure into a national museum of African-American history.

What Lewis didn’t know was that his effort would fizzle in the Senate, blocked by a member of the chamber who had a history of being a staunch segregationist.

But like so many of Lewis’ crusades during his long career as a congressman and civil rights leader, he purposefully yet respectfully pushed forward.

It took him 10 more years to shepherd the concept through Congress, but next weekend Lewis will finally witness the opening of a Smithsonian museum that traces the history and celebrates the contributions of African Americans in the United States from slavery to the present.

Washington is set to honor the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture — a gleaming bronze structure across the Mall from the Arts and Industries building — in grand style on Sept. 24.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution, September 17, 2016.

Photo Credit: Preparations are finalized for the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2016. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Posted in News & Events on September, 2016