President Obama, First Lady Host Reception For Smithsonian Museum of African American History

The guest list and videos...
President Obama and First Lady Obama on Wednesday afternoon hosted a closed-to-press reception celebrating the groundbreaking for the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. The President and Mrs. Obama attended the morning ceremony, and guests at the 4:10 PM party in the East Room included those who wielded shovels to kick off construction. (Above: The President and Mrs. Obama chat in the Green Room before entering their party)

When it opens in 2015, the museum on the National Mall will be "not just a record of tragedy, but a celebration of life," President Obama said, illustrating the "sometimes difficult, often inspirational and always central role African Americans" played in US history.

Invited guests included former First Lady Laura Bush, Mayor Vincent Gray of D.C.; actor Phylicia Rashad; Rev. Dr. Calvin O. Butts, pastor, Abyssian Baptist Church, New York; Soprano Denyce Graves; Lonnie Bunch, founding director of the museum; Richard Kurin, undersecretary for History, Art and Culture at the Smithsonian; Linda Johnson Rice, chair of Johnson Publishing and Richard Parsons, chair of Citigroup, who are co-chairs of the museum’s advisory council; Rep. John Lewis, D-GA; Gov. Sam Brownback of Kansas; Wayne Clough, Smithsonian Secretary; and France Cordova, Purdue University president and Chair, Smithsonian Board of Regents.

The White House released this "sneak peek" video about the 380,000 square-foot museum. It is narrated by founding director Bunch:



The museum, the 19th Smithsonian Institution, will feature objects collected from across the US, including Chuck Berry’s red Cadillac convertible, one of the planes flown by the Tuskeegee Airmen, Emmett Till’s casket (c.1955), a Jim Crow railroad car (ca. 1922), a shawl given to Harriet Tubman by Queen Victoria.

The Ghanaian-born architect David Adjaye, with offices in Berlin, London, and New York, will be the lead designer. The museum is scheduled to open in 2015 at an estimated cost of $500 million with 50% of the total to be covered by Congress.

The President's remarks at the groundbreaking:


*Photo by Pete Souza/White House