Gallery Descriptions
Entrance & America I AM: Your History
Visitors begin their journey in a passageway filled with depictions of African Americans leading them back in time, beginning with present-day icons and ending with Africans from generations ago.
America I AM: Africa
Artifacts and text depict African society and show how the slave trade began, as well as how it made its impact on the Atlantic world. Visitors will pass through the “Doors of No Return” from Cape Coast Castle in Ghana where captive Africans were housed under lock and key, sometimes for months at a time, awaiting ships that would take them to the Americas.
America I AM: Inextricable
Enslavement was critical to this nation’s growth. During this time and despite the bleakness of slavery, African Americans engendered four kinds of major imprints on America: economic, socio-political, cultural, and spiritual. These are recurring themes throughout the rest of the exhibition.
America I AM: Justice
In this gallery, visitors will see how free and enslaved Africans fought in wars dating all the way back to the Revolutionary War, before freedom for the colonies also meant freedom for them, and what their sacrifices ultimately meant for the nation.
America I AM: The Voice of Freedom
Visitors will next enter a maze-like gallery that, through its physical design, will reflect the ups and downs endured by African Americans after the Revolutionary War and through the Civil War to Reconstruction. This gallery showcases objects and discusses the impact of the abolition movement on the rest of the world, the role of black Civil War soldiers, and the constitutional Amendments that grant citizenship and the right to vote to African Americans.
America I AM: Denied but not Defeated
This emotionally powerful gallery will relate some of the positive imprints made during the dark days of the Jim Crow era. The gallery will detail economic imprints like the increase of African American college graduates via the founding of historically black colleges and universities. It also will convey cultural imprints, such as artistic contributions, and the impact of black soldiers in both world wars. A video created by African American filmmaker Madison Davis Lacy showcases some of these contributions and what they meant in the social context of the era.
America I AM: Spirit
This gallery will explore the spiritual imprint of the African American community – from its impact on how other communities worship to nineteenth century churches that took a role in the fight against slavery.
America I AM: Double Victory
This gallery offers insight into the discrimination African Americans endured as soldiers and how the black press’ Double V campaign during World War II changed the military.
America I AM: Your Conscience
This gallery will offer a fresh look at the modern Civil Rights Movement in terms of how it impacted social movements, from the women’s movement to anti-apartheid and others. There will be an exploration of the Voting Rights Act and how electing African Americans to office affected the course of history.
America I AM: Triumph
Through objects, photos, and an inspiring video presentation, this uplifting gallery will celebrate the imprints African Americans have had through the four themes (economic, socio-political, cultural, and spiritual) over nearly 500 years, including the election of the first African American president, Barack Obama.
What Is My Imprint?
At the end of the exhibition, visitors will be invited to leave a video recording of what the African American imprint has meant to them. These video imprints will be added to a growing oral collection throughout the exhibition’s four-year run.