The US will build national museums for American Latinos and Women’s History.
The legislation to establish the American Latino National Museum and the National Women’s History Museum in Washington, DC under the umbrella of the Smithsonian Institution was accepted by the US Congress after a decades-long struggle.
The attempt to build each museum stretches back years. In 1994, a Smithsonian task force released a study alleging that in reflecting Latino contributions to US culture, the institution showed a pattern of “willful neglect”. In 2014, US Congress set up a congressional commission to research the potential of the US Women’s History Museum, claiming that American women have always been overlooked in the Smithsonian narrative of US history and that 2020 is the 100th anniversary of women’s empowerment.
However, the challenges facing each museum are considerable: the legislation to establish the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History was approved in 2003, thirteen years before the opening of the museum in 2016. Since then, the institution has inspired audiences and proved to be very popular.
Bills included in the legislation call for 50 percent of the funding for each museum to come from the federal government and 50 percent from private sources. Supporters claim that both institutions could be constructed on or near the National Mall
Here’s a list of museums that are great examples of Black culture in America.
The Smithsonian Secretary, Lonnie G. Bunch III, who was the founding director of the African American History Museum, shared support for both projects. “Creating new museums is challenging, but, with appropriate funding, the Smithsonian has the skill and expertise to do it right. We can, and have, created museums that meet the needs of the nation and showcase the U.S. to the world,” he said.
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