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Our Opening Year

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Our Opening Year Our Opening Year An Overview Our first full year of operation left us excited and proud to see From the the National Museum of African American History and Culture changing the way people learn about the African American experience and the myriad ways it shapes our nation and the Director world. 3 From the Director 19 Creating Collaborations There are two things that make the social media. Elementary school teachers, Many—nearly 200,000—chose to do more Contents Smithsonian’s National Museum of African learning innovative ways to teach their than visit; they stepped forward to 4 By the Numbers 22 Notable Accessions American History and Culture special: The pre-teen students the painful history of become members who supported and people built it and the people turned racism, made the Museum a cornerstone championed the museum. And for that, 5 In the News 24 Exploring Our History out—in staggering numbers—to see it. of education. There were also young adult we are eternally grateful. visitors, launching their professional careers 7 Inspiring Generations 27 Investing in the Future During our first year, nearly three million and choosing to make their first charitable This is a museum with a mission. It visited—that is roughly 7,000 people per donations to this new national treasure. is a museum living out a commitment to 11 Sharing the Knowledge 28 Recognizing our Donors day. They came from across the country and educate, celebrate, engage and create. It is a 14 Paying Tribute 31 Advisory Council around the world, including nations in Africa, What brought them here? Twelve inaugural museum providing a space to honor the past the Caribbean and Europe. Many were exhibitions and three temporary exhibitions; and reflect on it. visiting a museum for the first time in treasured artifacts, including an early portrait their lives. of Underground Railroad conductor Harriet Thank you for your continued support. Tubman; award-winning interactive kiosks; We ask that you join us in celebrating our Visitors included senior citizens who came and 70 diverse public programs, including remarkable opening year. with their grandchildren, quite literally film screenings and panel discussions, from bridged the lived experiences of one genera- Curtis Mayfield and James Baldwin to the Lonnie G. Bunch, III tion with the exuberance and expectancy of Little Rock Nine and the Tuskegee Airmen. Founding Director another. There were teenagers visiting with National Museum of African American their peers and sharing their excitement via History and Culture 3 By the Numbers In the News ENGAGING VISITORS Nearly 40,000 objects in Museum collection About 3,000 objects on display 10,000 collection objects available online Average length of visit: 4.5 hours 12 inaugural exhibitions 3 temporary exhibitions 70 public programs Hosted more than 30,000 student groups EARNING DISTINCTION 2017 Award for Excellence in Architecture, American Institute of Architects (AIA|DC) 2017 Thea Award for Outstanding Achievement, Themed Entertainment Association 2017 James Beard Nominee, Best New Restaurant, James Beard Foundation 2017 Gold MUSE Award, Interactive Kiosk Category, American Alliance of Museums 2017 Best Teaching Mobile App, American Association of School Librarians 2017 People’s Choice for Website Design, Webby Awards 2017 NAACP Image Award, NAACP (Lonnie Bunch) 2017 XCEL Award, BLACK ENTERPRISE (Lonnie Bunch) I felt proud to be African American and “ walk through here and see so many years of perseverance, struggle, and overcoming a lot of different things, but alsosuccess . “ That’s what the Museum represents. CANDACE PARKER, MUSEUM VISITOR Within its first full year of operation, there was little doubt Inspiring that the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture had become a cultural touchstone for Generations America and the world. In the first year, the Museum’s critically critically about the history I’m witnessing and acclaimed exhibitions, provocative public what is or is not included in it.” programs and dynamic digital interactives drew a tidal wave of nearly three million Visitors were immersed in 12 inaugural visitors from across the country and and three temporary exhibitions focusing around the globe. And the museum’s on broad themes of history, culture and dwell time, the length of time a visitor stays community. Many of the more than 3,000 in a museum, was unparalleled—averaging artifacts on display elicited emotional four and a half hours or more on weekends, responses from visitors who shared their compared to 75 minutes to two hours for reflections through letters, social media most museums. and more than 39,000 personal videos. For instance, thousands wept upon seeing a In the words of one visitor: “As a white pair of tiny shackles—less than two inches person, it was an educational experience to in diameter and designed for an enslaved see history, of which I had learned the most child. Others laughed with excitement while basic outline, fleshed out and given much visiting the Robert Frederick Smith A visitor comes prepared to document her more context. Seeing it all together made Explore Your Family History Center visit to the Museum. Young visitors engage with a touch me realize just how much I didn’t know. It and uncovering little-known facts about screen in the “Power of Place” also gave me enough background to think ancestors they did not know they had. exhibition in the Community Galleries. 6 7 Above: A visitor is captivated by items on view The temporary exhibitions also drew Similarly, “Everyday Beauty,” within As soon as it opened, the Museum in the “More Than a Picture” exhibition. The tremendous positive responses. “More Than the Museum’s Earl W. and Amanda became the go-to repository and exhibition opened May 5, 2017, the first in the a Picture,” the inaugural exhibition in the Stafford Center for African American added to its collection of nearly 40,000 Special Exhibitions Gallery. Museum’s Special Exhibitions Gallery, ex- Media Arts, featured 100 images and objects. New acquisitions included: Above right: A visitor looks at photos plored ways photographs reflect important rarely seen films from the Museum’s capturing everyday people through several moments in history and memory, and how growing photography and moving image —The political and cultural memorabilia generations that paint a picture of a diverse they shape the understanding of African collection, and chronicling the humanity collection of Julian Bond; culture in the “Everyday Beauty” exhibition. American experiences. The 150 photos and dignity of black life through five themes: —The Howland photo album, including a featured in the exhibition included works by Self-preservation, Courtship and Family, Faith previously unknown photograph of Harriet both notable and amateur photographers and Activism, Education and Uplift, and Work Tubman taken before she had turned 50 and incorporated thematic images; portraits and Play. “Everyday Beauty” challenged (a joint acquisition with the Library of of recognizable black figures, such as negative stereotypes and provided nuanced Congress); and Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. DuBois and examinations of black homeownership, —The personal effects and oral history Rosa Parks; as well as depictions of African higher education, family gatherings and of Albert Woodfox, a longtime inmate of Americans in everyday life. Visitors voiced entrepreneurship. Louisiana’s state penitentiary, known as their pride and enthusiasm after seeing their Angola. Carte-de-visite portrait of Harriet Tubman, Collection of the Smithsonian lived experiences captured and displayed in National Museum of African American History and Culture shared with the this exhibition. Library of Congress 8 9 Visitors explore inspirational quotes in contemplative court. Learning your history gives you a sense “ of value in this country; this type of information has not been readily available, so it’s a great thing to be in the building. “ VICTOR PURCELL, MUSEUM VISITOR Sharing the The Museum established a reputation early on for telling the unvarnished truth about the African American experience. As soon as it opened, the Museum became the go-to repository for Knowledge and authority on African American life past and present. With 42 billion media impressions context—and expanded the discourses on in 2017, the Museum’s exhibitions, public lynching and social justice in the wake of a programs, centers of study, Sweet Home rising signs of racial intolerance. Café and educational initiatives extended to new online audiences around the world. Additionally, the Museum’s Education The Museum shifted, changed and provided Department hosted a series of workshops historical context to national conversations designed to assist teachers in introducing on race and social justice. Print and and engaging students in dialogue about broadcast features underscored, above all, race and culture. Programming such that the African American story is an as “Let’s Talk!” offered digital resources American story. to facilitate positive exchanges. NMAAHC educators shared their groundbreaking work Features and general news stories, including with museums worldwide in the Journal of opinion editorials in The New York Times Museum Education. The March 2017 issue, (“A Noose at the Smithsonian Brings History “Race, Dialogue and Inclusion: A Museum on Visitors learn about the Middle Passage in the Back to Life”) and The Washington Post the National Stage,” was authored solely by “Slavery and Freedom” exhibition. (“Protests in Sports Aren’t New at All”), the Museum’s Education Department. authored by founding director Lonnie Bunch, provided scholarly insight and historical 10 11 The Atlantic’s national correspondent Ta-Nehisi Coates and journalist Michele Norris discussing several of the essays featured in his latest book, We Were Eight Years In Power: An American Tragedy. Book discussions, film screenings, tism and courage among African Americans Resurrection City and the Poor People’s Campaign concerts, staged readings and dance throughout military history—from the Civil of 1968, Louisiana’s Angola Prison, African performances captured the attention War to the Iraq War.
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