What does the shape of the African American Museum represent?
The three-tiered shape is inspired by the Yoruban Caryatid, a traditional wooden column that features a crown or corona at its top. The pattern of the exterior panels evokes the look of ornate 19th-century ironwork created by enslaved craftsmen in New Orleans and allows daylight to enter through dappled openings.
Why are African American Museums important?
As important keepers of the culture, African- American museums in the late twentieth century are charged with defining, inter- preting, preserving, retaining, and refining for the current generation those values and visions that sustained the African-American community throughout the eras of slavery and segregation.
What is the largest African American Museum?
The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the nation’s largest and most comprehensive cultural destination devoted exclusively to exploring, documenting and showcasing the African American story and its impact on American and world history.
Who paid for the African American museum?
Bush signed legislation to establish a national museum dedicated to African American history and culture. As a public-private partnership, the museum would receive half the funding from Congress and was responsible for raising the remaining $270 million through private philanthropic support.