Struggle and pride
America’s Museum of African-American History and Culture faces a race against time to be ready for its official opening.
UNITED States President Barack Obama and his family took their first excursion this week into the Smithsonian’s new National Museum of African-American History and Culture in Washington, DC, for a private tour lasting about 80 minutes.
It’s not known which exhibits they lingered over – but it’s likely they saw a few things that hit close to home.
As the first black president, Obama is amply represented through the museum’s exhibits and galleries. There are buttons and signs from his campaign, and a programme from an inaugural ball. There is also a black dress with red roses, made by AfricanAmerican designer Tracy Reese, that Michelle Obama wore during the 50th anniversary ceremony commemorating the March on Washington.
Elsewhere in the museum there is a photo of the awkward ‘‘beer summit’’ that the president convened after the raciallycharged incident in which a Cambridge, Massachusetts police officer arrested Harvard Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr for seemingly breaking into a house that turned out to be his own.
On the museum’s pop cultureheavy fourth floor, Obama earns a spot in a section documenting gestures and body language that are considered classically African-American – notably, the moment on a 2008 campaign stage when he and Michelle gave each other a fist bump.
Their current abode is represented as well – in an exhibit on slavery, which documents the role of enslaved men and women who worked in the White House.
The president will speak at the museum’s opening ceremony next week, and White House press secretary Josh Earnest said both he and the first lady were ‘‘quite enthusiastic’’ about it.
But with only days until it opens, the museum is still far from the finish line.
Long lines at security, lifts and escalators that didn’t work and closed-off galleries marred the museum’s debut during a media preview this week that drew more than 500 visitors. It was the first of several events scheduled in advance of the museum’s formal dedication on September 24.
The number of media members invited to the preview exceeded the seating available for the opening remarks. Almost half of the attendees were unable to get into the Oprah Winfrey Theatre, which seats 350.
The museum’s founding director, Lonnie G Bunch, was unconcerned about the chaos around him.
"We are so ready it’s ridiculous," he said. "We have 10 days. It’s a piece of cake."
Smithsonian Secretary David J Skorton expressed the same confidence even as he passed construction workers on ladders and the roped-off entrance to the Contemplative Court.
"We have 10 more days – and 10 more nights," he said.
They will need every second. Crews were installing a large sculpture in the main entrance hall, and others were painting walls and hanging lights as members of the media arrived.
The below-ground history galleries are the most incomplete. About half of the lowest floor was blocked off because artifacts are not yet installed. Many cases were empty, and others that had artifacts were missing the labels explaining what was inside. Two technicians were working on the installation of Harriet Tubman’s shawl as visitors snapped pictures or just stopped to watch.
The Sweet Home Cafe was open and serving free samples from four stations that represent the geographical diversity of African-American cooking. Among the popular items were fried chicken and collard greens, gumbo, shrimp and grits, and sweet potato pie.
Above ground, the museum shop is a jumble of empty and partially built shelves. The visual art gallery is partially complete. The theatre gallery was closed as crews worked on a problem with the lights. Elsewhere, hallways were blocked as workers painted walls, making it difficult for visitors to navigate.
The Smithsonian’s acting provost, Richard Kurin, surveyed the scene in the history gallery, where crowds were getting stuck as they snaked their way through the dark spaces. Kurin compared the final push with the opening of the National Museum of the American Indian in 2004.
"We’re in good shape," he said, estimating that 95 per cent of the exhibitions were complete.
Officials are bracing for major crowds during the opening weekend, which includes the three-day Freedom Sounds festival on the grounds of the Washington Monument.
Skorton said the crowds could be as large as "100,000, depending on the weather and other factors’’, and that the museum would be tested as it balanced visitor demand with safety.
"We’re always trying to find the sweet spot between open access and safety and security," Skorton said.
The museum’s security would be able to handle about 2500 to 3000 visitors an hour when it PHOTOS: REUTERS opened, Kurin said. He said timed entry passes would help to keep waiting times down.
Kurin said the Smithsonian had lots of experience with big crowds and high demand. "The Air and Space Museum had 53,000 visitors at the 40th anniversary (on) July 1.’’ Washington Post