The National Museum of African American History and Culture is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture. It was established by an Act of Congress in 2003, following decades of efforts to promote and highlight the contributions of African Americans.

From one perspective, the building's architecture follows classical Greco-Roman form in its use of a base and shaft, topped by a capital or corona. For our Museum, the corona is inspired by the three-tiered crowns used in Yoruban art from West Africa.

Established by an Act of Congress on December 16, 2003, after decades of proposals to create a national museum dedicated to African American History and Culture, the museum opened its doors to the public September 24, 2016.

The collections include the Star-Spangled Banner, First Ladies gowns, a Samuel Morse telegraph, locomotives, Dorothy's Ruby Slippers, an Alexander Graham Bell telephone, American-made quilts, Muhammad Ali's boxing gloves, Duke Ellington's sheet music, and presidential artifacts.

African American culture is the culture(s) of people who are descended from those who were enslaved in America. Black culture is a broader term that includes African American culture(s) and the cultures of other Black groups throughout the world.

The attraction boasts a collection of more than 9,000 pieces in a variety of media spanning from ancient times through the modern era. In addition to textiles and jewelry, the museum has sculptures, pottery and paintings representing nearly every country in Africa, including Arab North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex, with 21 museums and the National Zoo - shaping the future by preserving heritage, discovering new knowledge, and sharing our resources with the world.

The museum has the largest collection of New Deal art and exceptional collections of contemporary craft, American impressionist paintings, and masterpieces from the Gilded Age, and maintains six online research databases with more than a half million records, including the Inventories of American Painting and Sculpture ...

African-American culture, also known as Black American Culture or Black Culture, refers to the cultural expressions of African Americans, either as part of or distinct from mainstream American culture. African-American culture has been influential on American and global worldwide culture as a whole.

Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroupNational Museum of African American History and Culture / Architecture firm Breadcrumb. In 2009 architect Phil Freelon (1953 - 2019) and his team won the international competition to design the newest addition to the National Mall, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC).

The scope of objects in Smithsonian collections is staggering - from ancient Chinese bronzes to the Star-Spangled Banner; from a 3.5 billion-year-old fossil to the Apollo lunar landing module; from the ruby slippers featured in The Wizard of Oz to presidential memorabilia.

About. Devoted to the scientific, cultural, social, technological, and political development of the United States, the museum traces the American experience from colonial times to the present.