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Obama calls black museum symbol for all Americans
Political and cultural figures joined Barack Obama to break ground for a new museum celebrating black Americans
The $500 million National Museum of African American History and Culture will be the only national museum devoted solely to black life, art, history and culture. (Getty Images)
Obama, the first black president, said the museum should be seen not as a memorial to black Americans’ often-tragic history but as a reminder “that each of us is made in God’s image.” (AFP/Getty Images)
Obama was joined by a dignitaries including former first lady Laura Bush and Democratic Representative John Lewis of Georgia, a veteran of 1960s civil rights campaigns who spearheaded creation of the museum.(Getty Images)
Hosted by actress Phylicia Rashad, the ceremony included performances by jazz pianist Jason Moran, opera singers Denyce Graves and Thomas Hampson, and the Heritage Signature Chorale.(Getty Images)
The seven-level museum will be between the Washington Monument and the National Museum of American History. It is the culmination of efforts begun by black Civil War soldiers to get a monument.(Getty Images)
The museum, the 19th in the Smithsonian system, will have most of its 374,000 square feet underground, and it is expected to draw 3 million to 3.5 million visitors a year. (Getty Images)
Exhibits will include a Jim Crow-era segregated railroad car, slave shackles, galleries devoted to military and sports history, and a trumpet owned by jazz great Louis Armstrong. (AFP/Getty Images)
