Source: The Belle Report / The Belle Report
It all started at the White House on Friday with a reception of who’s who gathering to pre-celebrate what was long overdue but what was to be on Saturday morning – The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African-American History and Culture. Celebrities from all walks of life, all races, colors and creeds gathered with The Nation’s First and only Black President – President Barack Obama & his family in anticipation what was to come.
As the sun rose on 14th & Constitution Avenue’s in downtown Washington, D.C. – the crowd of people rose with it. People started arriving at the National Mall at dark with the gates officially opening at 7 am to the Mall just to be apart of what would only happen once in history – the Opening of the only museum on the National Mall dedicated entirely to the history of African Americans.
We came in large numbers, I say “we” because I was apart of crowd waiting for the history moment when our President Officially opened the doors to the Museum.
The officlal dedication program when off without a hitch, with speakers such as Congressman John Lewis, President & Mrs. George Bush, Oprah Winfrey & Will Smith, Linda Johnson Rice, Pastor Calvin O. Butts, Lonnie Bunch, Stevie Wonder and the last speaker President Barack Obama. With the program being shown to every household in the United States and almost every country in the world, one could tell that lots of time and preparation went into the planning of the official program.
An estimated 50,000 including me were in the grandstand watching Jumbo Trons and immediately after there was music taking place on the big stage on the mall that went on for two days.
The dedication of the National Museum of African-American History and Culture was more than just a dedication and grand opening, but more of a feeling of satisfaction knowing that our story will now finally be seen, read and heard.
