WASHINGTON (AP )— The first national museum devoted exclusively to the history and culture of African-Americans is now open.
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama opened the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture on the National Mall by ringing a bell from a historic African-American church.
The museum is the 19th and the newest of the Smithsonians.
The push for the museum began in 1915 with African-American Civil War veterans looking for a way to commemorate America’s black experience. Former President George W. Bush signed the law authorizing the construction in 2003.
Bush and Obama sat onstage together with their wives, Michelle Obama and Laura Bush. They were joined by civil rights icon Congressman John Lewis of Georgia, and museum founding director Lonnie Bunch.
Rep. John Lewis says the Smithsonian’s new African American history museum is more than a building, it is a great achievement and a dream come true. The civil rights icon said the bronze-colored museum “is more than a building, it is a dream come true.”
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts also sat on stage. Former President Bill Clinton sat among dignitaries in the crowd, next to Vice President Joe Biden.
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