DETROIT'S AFRICAN-AMERICAN MUSEUM HONORS RACE'S HISTORY.Byline: The New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times The history of African-Americans in this country is surveyed in the relocated Museum of African American History African American history is the portion of American history that specifically discusses the African American or Black American ethnic group in the United States. Most African Americans are the descendants of African slaves held in the United States from 1619 to 1865. , which opened April 12 in Detroit. Founded in 1965 as the International Afro-American Museum of Detroit by Charles Wright Charles Wright is the name of:
The new 120,000-square-foot building, designed by the African-American firm of Sims-Varner Architects of Detroit, includes 25,000 square feet of gallery space, a rotunda rotunda In Classical and Neoclassical architecture, a building or room that is circular in plan and covered with a dome. The Pantheon is a Classical Roman rotunda. The Villa Rotonda at Vicenza, designed by Andrea Palladio, is an Italian Renaissance example. and dome, a 317-seat theater, classrooms and a research library. The 16,000-square-foot core exhibit, ``Of the People: The African-American Experience,'' begins with the Middle Passage, the voyage from Africa to the colonies, and enslavement en·slave tr.v. en·slaved, en·slav·ing, en·slaves To make into or as if into a slave. en·slave  ment n. and continues
through Reconstruction, voting rights Voting rightsThe right to vote on matters that are put to a vote of security holders. For example the right to vote for directors. voting rights The type of voting and the amount of control held by the owners of a class of stock. , the Harlem Renaissance, and struggles and achievements. Artifacts include the flight suit worn by Mae Jemison on the space shuttle Endeavour in 1992; a reproduction of the door to the jail cell in Birmingham, Ala., where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King was held; and a reproduction of a 70-foot slave ship. Two galleries will be host to changing exhibitions. From June 7 through Sept. 7, ``Africa: One Continent, Many Worlds,'' an adaptation of the permanent Africa exhibition of the Field Museum in Chicago, will feature a collection of African artifacts. The museum, at 315 E. Warren Ave. in Detroit's Cultural Center, is open 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. Admission is $3 adults, $2 children 12 and under. Information: (313) 494-5800. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Master African drummer Babatunde Olatunji leads a musical procession at the opening of the Museum of African American History in Detroit. Tom Pidgeon/Associated Press |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion