Hip-Hop in the Bronx
The National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC) is one of the newer museums on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.
Physically, it’s an impressive structure from outside, on the northeast corner of 15th & Madison next to the Washington Monument.
The museum is basically 7 floors. The ground floor with the gift shop & information with a large atrium. The 3 floors below ground predominantly tell history (chronologically) from the slave trade up to current day. The 3 upper floors address different aspects of culture (music, art, dance, theater, sports, and literature among others).
The photo you are looking at here is from my second visit, which happily coincided with Malcolm X’s 96th birthday (19 May 2021). Since I’d been before, I didn’t stop by information, but from what I recall of my first visit, they suggest starting with the lower floors and finishing with the upper floors. You’ll probably want to block a half day, at least, to take this museum in.
Should you follow the suggestion of history before culture, you’ll walk behind the information desk and around a back hallway to take an elevator down to the bottom floor (or stairs around the elevator shaft, should you choose). When you come out, you’re greeted by darkness and displays regarding the slave trade in general, and in the different regions of the country, including "highlights" of the era, like Bacon’s Rebellion, Denmark Vesey, etc. There is no specific demarcation to let you know you are moving up from one floor to another, but there are ramps (it’s not a trick or anything like that). The farther up you go, the more you approach modern day, passing information about famous historical figures (Douglass, Tubman, DuBois, Booker T. Washington) and historic events (emancipation, sit ins, segregation, Jim Crow laws, black nationalism) until finishing with a few exhibits that highlight specific decades (1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s).
From there, you can take a break and grab lunch in the cafe — if it ever opens again — where they have foods that are staples in the black community — before continuing to the other half of the museum.
I would suggest taking the escalator up to the top floor and working your way down. On the top floor, you’ll find the exhibits for art, music, literature, and theater/television. Going down a floor, you’ll find sports and special exhibitions. The fourth floor (well…2nd, I guess) is a hands on workshop and genealogy research center.
Realistically, this museum takes multiple visits to really let everything seep in. Even after two visits, I feel like I barely glossed over everything.
Posted by Neil Noland on 2021-09-05 02:09:07
Tagged: , museum , Smithsonian , National Museum of African American History and Culture , NMAAHC , Washington, D.C.
