The National Museum of the American People is a proposed museum to be built in Washington, D.C. [1] Its plan is to tell the story about the making of the American People including the migration and immigration stories of all Americans. The National Museum of the American People would use the museum story-telling approach used by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Proposed by the Coalition for the National Museum of the American People, composed of more than 250 ethnic, nationality and genealogical private non-profit organizations as of 2019, [2] the museum "will tell the story of every American ethnic and cultural group coming to this land and nation from every corner of the world, from the first people through today." [3] The museum also has the support of 19 organizations that focus on refugees and immigration including the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church, National Association of Evangelicals and Church World Service. [4]
The Coalition for the National Museum of the American People was created by Sam Eskenazi, former Director of Public Information for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The concept for the museum originated in the late 90s when Eskenazi was passing the USDA Headquarters Building, the only office building on the National Mall. Eskenazi asked and answered a question to himself:
"If this were a museum, what kind of museum could it be?" The answer: a museum that would tell the stories of all of the peoples coming to this land. I came up with a name for the museum on the spot - the National Museum of the American People. It is a testament to the need for the museum that many people, when told about the proposal, were surprised that such a museum doesn't already exist. [5]
On September 11, 2008, Congressman Maurice Hinchey introduced a bill, H.R. 6883, into the 110th United States Congress to "establish a commission to study the establishment of the National Museum of the American People...". [6] Eskenazi then started a coalition of private not-for-profit ethnic and nationality groups to support the creation of the museum in 2009. The organization announced this project at a press event in February, 2011 and began gathering support in Congress. [7] [8] Beginning that year, Rep. Jim Moran, Sen. Brian Schatz and various cosponsors have introduced into the United States Congress legislation that would support a bipartisan study on the creation of such a museum without using any federal taxpayer funds. [7] [9] [10] [11] Shortly thereafter the Washington City Paper named it the "Best Museum That Doesn't Exist Yet" in the newspaper's "Best Of D.C. 2011" issue. [12]
In May 2011, Congressman Jim Moran agreed to be the originating sponsor of a resolution calling for a study group, expressing concerns about balkanization of the National Mall. [13] In partnership with Eskenazi's Coalition for the National Museum of the American People, Moran introduced into the 112th United States Congress on July 7, 2011, a concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 63, "supporting the formation of a bipartisan Presidential Commission to study the establishment of a National Museum of the American People". [14] On March 19, 2013, Moran reintroduced the resolution H. Con. Res. 27 into the 113th Congress. [10] It had 48 bipartisan sponsors. In 2015, Senator Brian Schatz introduced a similar resolution into the Senate. [15]
Location planning is limited by the lack of available locations in the central Washington, DC area, whether for the NMAP or another museum. [16] One site proposed for the museum is an overlook at the south end of L'Enfant Promenade that now contains the National Park Service's Benjamin Banneker Park, a half mile (800 m) south of the Smithsonian Institution's Castle Building on the National Mall. [17]
The museum project creators have proposed a number of components to be considered for a final institution. Among these are a permanent exhibition (tentatively called The Story of the American People), a Center for the Advanced Study of the American People drawing upon a group of over 145 scholars who have offered their support to the project, [18] a National Genealogical Center, an Education and Resource Center and an archival library of American Migration and Immigration. [19]
In addition, the permanent collection is intended to be presented in a narrative manner, told in four chapters: [20]
Chapter I, The First Peoples Come, 20,000 before present (est.)-1607 [21]
Chapter II, The Nation Takes Form, 1607-1820 [22]
Chapter III, The Great In-Gathering, 1820-1924 [23]
Chapter IV, And Still They Come, 1924–present [24]
The NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt, often abbreviated to AIDS Memorial Quilt or AIDS Quilt, is a memorial to celebrate the lives of people who have died of AIDS-related causes. Weighing an estimated 54 tons, it is the largest piece of community folk art in the world as of 2020. It was conceived in 1985, during the early years of the AIDS pandemic, when social stigma prevented many AIDS victims from receiving funerals. It has been displayed on the Mall in Washington, D.C., several times. In 2020, it returned to the AIDS Memorial in San Francisco, and can also be seen virtually.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly called Washington or D.C., is the capital city and the federal district of the United States. The city is located on the east bank of the Potomac River, which forms its southwestern border with Virginia and borders Maryland to its north and east. Washington, D.C. was named for George Washington, a Founding Father, victorious commanding general of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War and the first president of the United States, who is widely considered the "Father of his country". The district is named for Columbia, the female personification of the nation.
The National Mall is a landscaped park near the downtown area of Washington, D.C., the capital city of the United States. It contains and borders a number of museums of the Smithsonian Institution, art galleries, cultural institutions, and various memorials, sculptures, and statues. It is administered by the National Park Service (NPS) of the United States Department of the Interior as part of the National Mall and Memorial Parks unit of the National Park System. The park receives approximately 24 million visitors each year.
Gerald Wesley Moran is an American lawyer and politician who is the senior United States senator from Kansas, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee for the 113th U.S. Congress, during which he led successful Republican efforts in the 2014 election, producing the first Republican Senate majority since 2006. Previously, he was a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Kansas's 1st congressional district.
David Timothy Dreier OAE is an American businessman, philanthropist, and politician who served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from California from 1981 to 2013. He was one of the youngest members ever elected to the United States Congress. Dreier was the youngest chairman of the House Rules Committee in U.S. history, serving from 1999 to 2007 and from 2011 to 2013. He was instrumental in passing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in 1993. After leaving Congress, Dreier served on the Foreign Affairs Policy Board under President Barack Obama. He served as the chairman of the Tribune Publishing Company from 2019 to 2020. Dreier is also founder and chair of the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation.
James Patrick Moran Jr. is an American politician who served as the mayor of Alexandria, Virginia, from 1985 to 1990, and as the U.S. representative for Virginia's 8th congressional district from 1991 to 2015.
The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is an American federal institution tasked with promoting conflict resolution and prevention worldwide. It provides research, analysis, and training to individuals in diplomacy, mediation, and other peace-building measures.
Southwest is the southwestern quadrant of Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States, and is located south of the National Mall and west of South Capitol Street. It is the smallest quadrant of the city, and contains a small number of named neighborhoods and districts, including Bellevue, Southwest Federal Center, the Southwest Waterfront, Buzzard Point, and the military installation known as Joint Base Anacostia–Bolling.
L'Enfant Plaza is a complex of four commercial buildings grouped around a large plaza in the Southwest section of Washington, D.C., United States. Immediately below the plaza and the buildings is La Promenade shopping mall.
Reforming the immigration policy of the United States is a subject of political discourse and contention. Immigration has played an essential part in American history. Some claim that the United States maintains the world's most liberal immigration policy.
The history of Washington, D.C., is tied to its role as the capital of the United States. The site of the District of Columbia along the Potomac River was first selected by President George Washington. The city came under attack during the War of 1812 in an episode known as the Burning of Washington. Upon the government's return to the capital, it had to manage the reconstruction of numerous public buildings, including the White House and the United States Capitol. The McMillan Plan of 1901 helped restore and beautify the downtown core area, including establishing the National Mall, along with numerous monuments and museums.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), colloquially known as the Blacksonian, is a Smithsonian Institution museum located on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in the United States. It was established in 2003 and opened its permanent home in 2016 with a ceremony led by President Barack Obama.
Jefferson Pier, Jefferson Stone, or the Jefferson Pier Stone, in Washington, D.C., marks the second prime meridian of the United States even though it was never officially recognized, either by presidential proclamation or by a resolution or act of Congress.
The Boston Tea Party (BTP) was a United States libertarian political party named after the event known as the Boston Tea Party of 1773. It was founded in 2006 by a group of former Libertarian Party (LP) members, who criticized the LP for its "abdication of political responsibilities", saying that "Americans deserve and desperately need a pro-freedom party that forcefully advocates libertarian solutions to the issues of today".
The National Museum of the American Latino is a future Smithsonian Institution museum dedicated to highlighting the contributions of American Latinos in U.S. history and culture. It will be situated in a "signature location on the National Mall" in Washington, D.C., in the United States. A commission to study the idea of the museum was originally created in 2008, and its May 2011 report called for federal legislation to establish a museum. Legislation was subsequently introduced in Congress and the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 established the museum.
New American Economy (NAE) is a national, nonprofit, bipartisan immigration research and advocacy organization based in New York City. NAE's stated mission is to fight for smart federal, state, and local immigration policies, and change the narrative around immigration in America by producing research on the economic impact of immigrants, organizing at the grassroots level, partnering with state and local policymakers, and spearheading cultural initiatives and events. NAE was originally founded in 2010 by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, and has grown into a coalition of business, civic, and cultural leaders in all 50 states.
The L'Enfant Plan for the city of Washington is the urban plan developed in 1791 by Major Pierre (Peter) Charles L'Enfant for George Washington, the first president of the United States.
The James V. Forrestal Building is a low-rise Brutalist office building in Washington, D.C. Originally known as Federal Office Building 5, and nicknamed the Little Pentagon, the Forrestal Building was constructed between 1965 and 1969 to accommodate United States armed forces personnel. It is named after James Forrestal, the first United States Secretary of Defense. It became the headquarters of the United States Department of Energy after that agency's creation in 1977.
The Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is Canada's national museum of immigration. The museum occupies part of Pier 21, the former ocean liner terminal and immigration shed from 1928 to 1971. Pier 21 is Canada's last remaining ocean immigration shed. The facility is often compared to Ellis Island (1892–1954), in terms of its importance to mid-20th-century immigration to Canada an association it shares with 19th century immigration history at Grosse Isle, Quebec (1832–1932) and Partridge Island in Saint John, New Brunswick (1785–1941). The museum began as an independent institution run by the Pier 21 Society in 1999. It became a national museum run by the Canadian federal government in 2011.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)