WASHINGTON, D.C. — In a project hailed as a milestone in the nation’s history, President Obama joined celebrities, political luminaries and scholars Wednesday for the symbolic groundbreaking of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
“This is a milestone moment not only for the Smithsonian but for the United States,” said actress Phylicia Rashad, who served as mistress of ceremonies.
“Today, we take the first step in creating an iconic building that will house something truly wonderful,” Rashad said. “A museum with the power to change hearts and minds and ultimately the nation.”
President Obama — who along with first lady Michelle Obama stayed on stage inside a tent at the site for almost the entire duration of the nearly two-hour event — said it was fitting that the museum found a home on the National Mall, a place that has witnessed events that range from the slave trade to the 1963 historic March on Washington.
“It was here that the pillars of our democracy were built, often by Black hands,” Obama said of the museum site, which is within the shadow of the Washington Monument.
“And it is on this spot — alongside the monuments to those who gave birth to this nation, and those who worked so hard to perfect it — that generations will remember the sometimes difficult, often inspirational, but always central role that African-Americans have played in the life of our country,” Obama said.
When the museum opens — as it is set to do in late 2015 — Obama said he hopes it will lead future generations to not see African-American history as something separate from the larger American story.
