African-American museum will show the power of history, director says
Will be dedicated on the Mall Sept. 24
On Sept. 24, President Obama will go to the National Mall to dedicate the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Founding director Lonnie Bunch, 63, has been working on the project for more than a decade. During Black History Month, he sat down with Capital Download to discuss what he hopes the museum means to America, and what it's meant to himself. Questions and answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Q: When people walk in to the museum, what will they see?
A: They’ll get to see some amazing artifacts that I’m stunned that we have ... like, oh, Nat Turner’s Bible, or a hymnal that Harriet Tubman carried with her. Or you’ll see pieces from a slave ship that we brought up from off the coast of South Africa. ... But you’ll also see things that will make you smile. You’ll see Chuck Berry’s guitar. Or you’ll see the Mothership from George Clinton or you’ll see beautiful quilts that will make you realize the creativity that was at the heart of this community.
Q: Is there an object that is particularly meaningful to you?
A: I am still overwhelmed by the piece of wood that we brought up from a slave ship off the coast of South Africa. ... The tribal chieftain from that community told me that when you go back to where that ship is, if you could take soil from Mozambique, where most of the people came from, and if you could sprinkle that soil over the ship, then for the first time since 1794, our people will sleep in their own land.
Q: The debate about race in this country isn’t just history. Will the Black Lives Matter movement be included in the museum?
A: It’s crucial for us to help people realize that history is not nostalgia. History is this amazing tool that helps people live their lives to understand the challenges they face.
When we look at things like Black Lives Matter, it’s crucially important for us to interview people involved, to go to Baltimore and interview people around the crisis there. To begin to collect artifacts — shirts that say “Black Lives Matter” or the posters that people carried.