• Abstract and Figures
• Public Full-text

SMITHSONIAN Smithsonian Institution Office of Advancement 1000 Jefferson Drive S.W., 4th floor MRC 035, P.O. Box 37012 Washington, D.C. 20013-7012 Phone: 202.633.4300 REPORT ANNUAL 2016 smithsoniancampaign.org Front cover: The National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Smithsonian’s 19th museum, stands on the National Mall adjacent to the Washington Monument. Read about its Sept. 24, 2016, dedication and opening inside this report. View the 2016 Smithsonian annual report, with added content, at si.edu/annualreport. CONTENTS Secretary’s Letter 2 A Moment for the Nation 4 Thought Leaders 12 Endless Discovery 20 You Build It 26 2016 by the Numbers 32 Recognition and Reports 34 View this report online, with added content, at si.edu/annualreport. This year, as every year, was a period of change, innovation and great progress for the Smithsonian. Among many accomplish- ments, we marked an extraordinary milestone, decades in the making: the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. This breathtaking museum gives proper place, now and forever, to a vital part of America’s story. The new museum is a significant com- At the Smithsonian, we ask the biggest ponent of the national Smithsonian questions—Where do we come from? Campaign. In fact, in fiscal 2016 we sur- How do we live together? Where will we passed our ambitious $1.5 billion goal with go from here?—and seek answers from one year still to go. More than 480,000 artists, scientists and historians. Our donors and counting have enabled our sci- scholars are passionate about their work, entists, educators and curators to create as illustrated in these pages. And their and share knowledge worldwide. efforts are made possible through your Just as we sprint to the culmination support, and for your education. of this campaign, so too do we chart the Here is America’s Smithsonian. We course for the future with a new strate- thank you for your commitment and belief gic plan to make us more than ever one in our mission. Smithsonian—greater in reach, relevance and impact. The plan will aid us in striving to meet our grand challenges: Unlocking the Mysteries of the Universe, Under- David J. Skorton, Secretary standing and Sustaining a Biodiverse Planet, Understanding the American Experience, Valuing World Cultures and Magnifying the Transformative Power of Art and Design. The distinctive bronze corona that encloses the National Museum of African American History and Culture appears striking when viewed from the outside—or from the inside, as shown here. 2 3 Director Lonnie Bunch, Rep. John Lewis, Michael Bonner and Shonda Rhimes reflect on the opening day of the National Museum of African American History and Culture → A MOMENT FOR THE 4 AttendeesNATION watch the museum dedication ceremony. Museum Director Lonnie Bunch in the A Changing America: 1968 and Beyond gallery. 5 Leaders, dignitaries, celebrities, donors and the public gathered Saturday morning to dedicate the museum. Thousands watched from seats, the grounds of the National Mall and via webcast. The day received international media coverage. Freedom Sounds: A Community Celebration marked the launch weekend with free outdoor music, dance and spoken word performances on the grounds of the Washington Monument. or the last 12 years, Lonnie Bunch and beige one to complement his gray The occasion carried momentous sig- National Museum of African American more tuned in from their homes, work- made tens of thousands of deci- suit, his daughters suggested. nificance, and all who were involved felt History and Culture. places, cars, cafes and airports. sions, large and small, as director Then, his speech. He was hours from it that bright, clear September morning. “THE GOAL WAS The seeds for the day were planted The stage was constructed outside F of the National Museum of African making it, but he wanted it to capture “The goal was to make our ancestors in 2003, when Congress established the the museum, which had been designed American History and Culture. He the historic moment. He went back and smile,” Bunch said. “For me, this day TO MAKE OUR museum and allocated half of the $500 to pay homage to the three-tiered chose almost every quote for the forth over passages. was the culmination of America at its million needed for construction. The Yoruba crowns from West Africa and museum’s walls, approved each story “There I was in the morning trying to best. The other thing I took away from museum eventually raised $313 million, the intricate ironwork crafted by en- told in the exhibitions and oversaw, figure out if my speech was too per- that day, candidly, was okay, yeah, we ANCESTORS SMILE.” receiving gifts from more than 140,000 slaved African Americans in Louisiana, week by week, the construction of the sonal,” he said. “What did it mean in the did it. There were a lot of people who donors, including extraordinary leader- South Carolina and elsewhere. Bunch LONNIE BUNCH 409,000-square-foot structure on the broader sense? When I get nervous, I said we weren’t going get this done, ship gifts from Oprah Winfrey, Robert sat behind Presidents George Bush and National Mall. start rewriting. After all these years, the didn’t believe in it, so there’s a part of Frederick Smith and Shonda Rhimes. Barack Obama and first ladies Laura Yet, on the morning of Sept. 24 last the dream was going to finally happen. me, the Jersey kid, who said, see.” These donors—along with dignitaries Bush and Michelle Obama and beside year, the museum director hesitated. It almost didn’t make any sense.” His tie knotted, his speech set, Bunch and about 7,000 others—participated Rep. John Lewis, “one of the few heroes His tie. Which one fit the gravity of the But it did. This was the day the drew himself together. He was ready, in the opening ceremony, receptions, I have,” he said. day? Details mattered. A pale yellow museum opened. just as the country was ready for the dinners and a music festival. Millions 6 7 “IT REMINDED ME OF 1963 WHEN I SPOKE AT THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON.” REP. JOHN LEWIS ewis stood first. To be on the “I looked out at this unbelievable Above: Rep. John Lewis in the to see this day, the countless and podium, on that day, was a trium- crowd,” he said. “I looked straight ahead, Contemplative Court. Right: Scenes from nameless people who had given all they phant moment. A moment he had then to the side. It reminded me of 1963 the museum dedication and opening day. had during the centuries African Amer- L worked and hoped for nearly his when I spoke at the March on Wash- icans struggled in the United States. entire career. As had so many before ington. It was almost unreal.” “This museum is a testament to the “Long before I was born,” he said, him. Most especially the African In his speech, Lewis said, “we are dignity of the dispossessed in every “there were men and women who American veterans of the Union Army gathered here today to dedicate a corner of the globe who yearn for dreamed of the day that there would who first dreamed of a museum almost building, but this is more; it is a dream freedom. All the voices roaming, for be an African American museum some exactly a century before and his col- come true. As long as there is a United centuries, have finally found a home place in Washington. They would have league Rep. Mickey Leland. States of America, there will be a here in this great monument to our pain, been very, very proud, pleased and A permanent landmark in the na- National Museum of African American our suffering and our victory.” happy to see this magnificent museum, tion’s capital. Before Lewis uttered a History and Culture.” His voice trembled. As he spoke, he located on the National Mall, what I call word, he scanned the audience. His words carried across the crowd: remembered those who had not lived the front porch of America.” 8 9 Four generations A visitor pauses in the ground floor of the Bonner family, Reflections gallery, which is next the President to Slavery and Freedom 1400–1877. and the first lady rang the Freedom Bell to signal the museum’s opening. Shonda Rhimes, far right, and family members at the Sept. 24 hat day was seared in the minds museum opening. and hearts of Michael Bonner and four generations of his family. He, T his 99-year-old mother, 38-year- old son and 7-year-old granddaughter sat in a reception room before they “WE GAVE THE would go onstage. Bonner’s mother, Ruth, was a special guest of honor. Her father, Elijah Odom, was born a slave in GALLERY TO THE Mississippi, but escaped across a river to freedom. He studied and worked to PEOPLE OF THE own a general store and a pharmacy and was the only black physician in Biscoe, Ark. UNITED STATES At the end of the ceremony, Ruth Bonner joined the President and first lady in ringing the historic Freedom Bell FOR ALL TIME.” to signify the opening of the museum, SHONDA RHIMES which recounts the epic journeys of African Americans—similar to her father—from Africa through slavery to American society today. Michael Bonner, 75, detailed each minute of the day. n the audience, Shonda Rhimes lis- She studied the artifacts, floor by overcome some political differences, “Everyone came over to meet my tened with her 14-year-old daughter, floor.

Load more

  43

Copy Link