Before the National Museum of African American History & Culture opened its
doors in Washington, D.C., four women helped bring the project to fruition.
Theirs is a little-known story of power, politics and persistence. Prayer too.

By Donna M. Owens for Essence

In the new book Long Road to Hard Truth: The 100-Year Mission to Create the National Museum of African American History and Culture (Proud Legacy Publishers), author Robert L. Wilkins, a federal judge, dubbed the congressmen the “Four Musketeers,” praising them and the savvy sisters who proved to be veritable secret weapons.

“Four African-American women led the corresponding efforts behind the scenes,” writes Wilkins, who was a part of 2001’s 23-member presidential commission that studied the museum’s feasibility and crafted a road map for its formation. “They performed the vitally important, but publicly unnoticed, work of talking with the staffs of the key congressional committees, the Smithsonian, interest groups and constituents to build support for the museum as well as to beat back any opposition and craft detailed legislative language to achieve the objective and garner the votes to pass it. This was no mean feat.”

To wit: Wilkins recounts the bureaucratic plodding, clashing federal agencies, competing special interests and more. Location was a thorny issue, as there were preservationists who insisted that nothing new be built on the National Mall. Meanwhile some smaller Black museums around the country were concerned about how a national site would impact them.

The book notes that even the venerable Smithsonian Institution wasn’t on board initially, although top officials eventually came around. “It
was complicated,” says Wilkins in our interview. “Yes, they came to the party late, but have since done a fine job,” he continues, noting key hires such as museum director Lonnie Bunch.

 

 

Posted in News & Events on January, 2017