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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Smithsonian's African-American History Museum an 'Opportunity for Understanding'


Ground was broken Wednesday on the National Mall for the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, set to open in 2015. Jeffrey Brown discusses the pivotal moment in the long, $500 million effort to showcase the stories and experiences of black Americans with journalist and author Isabel Wilkerson.
Read the transcript.


7 comments:

Redeye said...

Black folks helped elect the first African American President and all we get is a National Museum of African American History.

~Chip :) said...

LOL! Well, not quite.

Redeye said...

I assume there will be an admission fee once the museum opens....

~Chip :) said...

I could be wrong, but I don't think there will be an admission fee because I think it's part of the Smithsonian Institute museums.

According to Wikipedia, "The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines."

Redeye said...

You are correct my friend, admission is free to Smithsonian Institute museums, and that's a good thing because that's the only way a majority of African Americans are going to be able to see the exhibits and have "an opportunity for understanding." :)

~Chip :) said...

I figure living income inequality means folks, especially bluh folks, already have "an opportunity for understanding."

I had some trouble finding recent info on income disparity based on race, so scrolling down the page to "Income at a glance" is about the most comprehensive I ran across, but it's still based on 2006 info. So, it doesn't include what has happened since the 2008 meltdown.

Despite that info vacuum, there's no doubt that the mortgage crisis - that spawned the foreclosure crisis - hit blacks especially hard. One might even posit that it was designed to do that.

Of course, the financial debacle is evidence that the "markets" are over-regulated because "market forces" don't discriminate (people do).

Not to negate the point that significant income disparity is based on race, it's important to recognize that the income inequality between the "haves" and "have nots" is rapidly expanding. Those pictures say a lot about all of us.

Redeye said...

I am still trying to figure out how to insert links in the comment section.