Ten Years on the Mall: The National Museum of African American History and Culture Comes Home to Celebrate

Ten years ago today, the doors opened on the National Mall and a century long dream finally had an address. The Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture opened on Sept. 24, 2016, and this morning it marks its first decade with The Reunion, a four day commemoration running through Sunday under the theme "Welcome Home: Our Legacy Continues."

The numbers tell part of the story. Since opening, the museum has welcomed nearly 14 million visitors from 200 countries and hosted more than 26,000 school groups. More than 1.1 million K through 12 students, teachers and families have come through its educational workshops and public programs. Online, its Searchable Museum platform has drawn more than 65 million visits, and the institution has collected more than 100 awards for its exhibitions, education and digital work.

The other part of the story is what those numbers represent. Families who drove across the country to stand in front of Harriet Tubman's hymnal. Grandparents who walked their grandchildren through the history galleries, floor by floor, from the darkest chapters of our past to the brightest moments of our culture. Students who stood beneath the Tuskegee Airmen training biplane and left thinking about what they might build next.

Acting Museum Director Shanita Brackett framed the anniversary as a dream more than 100 years in the making, crediting the long line of people who pushed for it, from African American Civil War veterans to founding director Lonnie G. Bunch III, who now serves as Secretary of the Smithsonian.

Thursday is a full museum activation on the Mall. Friday brings a special edition of Understanding America, with Bunch in conversation with journalist Laura Coates. Saturday and Sunday move the celebration to The Wharf, where the museum is honoring one of the boldest escapes in local history: the 1848 attempt by 77 enslaved people to reach freedom aboard the schooner Pearl.

The museum has also released a companion book, What a Dream Can Do: Building a Collection, Preserving a Legacy, a 320 page illustrated catalog published by Rizzoli Electa. It tells the stories behind some of the museum's most important acquisitions, including Joseph Trammell's freedom papers and the Johnson Publishing Company's Ebony Test Kitchen. Sweet Home Café is marking its own ten years with a special anniversary menu from Executive Chef Ramin Coles through Sunday, followed by a seasonal anniversary menu that begins Monday.

Guests are encouraged to wear purple, the museum's signature color, all weekend long. It is a small detail that says something about the spirit of the moment. This is not simply a ceremony. It is a family reunion, and everybody is invited.

For those of us who call the DMV home, the museum has become something more than a destination. It is where we bring visiting relatives, where we take our children on the first warm Saturday of spring, and where we go when we need to be reminded of how far we have come. Ten years in, it remains exactly what its builders promised: proof, in bronze and glass, that our story is the American story.

Programming details and registration are available at nmaahc.si.edu/10Years.