NEWS
Saturday, November 29, 2003
A Detroit businessman has been selected by President Bush to serve on a six-member group charged with raising over $350 million for a National Museum of African American History and Culture to be built on the mall in Washington D.C. as part of the Smithsonian Institution:" ... The museum will offer Americans that total experience of both history past and present, of what we've done and what we've contributed," he said. "The scope and depth of the museum coupled with the marquee of the Smithsonian will help raise funds for this project."
The museum will be built on one of four sites on or near the National Mall, home of the Lincoln Memorial and the Washington Monument. The site will be selected within 12 months, according to the legislation. The legislation calls for the museum to be part of the Smithsonian and for the appointment of an advisory committee to work with the Smithsonian on the plans.
The museum will tell the African-American story from slavery through Reconstruction, the Harlem Renaissance, the civil rights movement and the present. It will outline African-American contributions in sports, the performing arts and other areas.
Detroit has the largest among similar museums with its Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History at 120,000 square feet.
But the Smithsonian museum is expected to be much larger. ... "
> Freep: "Detroiter gets black museum on track"
Posted by Rob at 4:43 PM
