I recently had the chance to visit Washington D.C.’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), having been pleased to know that it had finally opened since I arrived in the states. It was a spectacular experience, and I urge those in D.C., or those visiting, to definitely go!

What the museum offers is an incredible array of exhibitions that detail the ways in which black Americans established themselves: creating a huge variation of cultural expressions, not just as African Americans, but as forced migrants as a result of the African Diaspora.

Exhibitions vary, but one I visited allowed me to see the incredible artistry through photography, art and film from past to present. The importance was narrated throughout, explaining not only the relation to one’s heritage, but why the arts are still fundamental to understand the African American experience today and throughout time.

Some art were not expressions of the African American experience, rather they were used for analysis such as the one below. But, like the one after, other art had unbelievably powerful imagery; perhaps the first piece of work I legitimately gasped looking at.

Deborah Willis ended the exhibit with her formidable quote, impossible to miss as you are forced to question just what you have witnessed.

What impressed me further about the museum was how large it was. There were tons of exhibitions and collections to visit, and despite visiting for over four hours, I only managed to explore half of it. While the NMAAHC’s artistry exhibit was compelling, it was the incredible detail the attraction puts into describing the origin of the African American experience that, for me, was the best experience that day.

‘The Journey Toward Freedom’ starts from the forced migration of Africans through the hundreds of years of the Transatlantic Slave Trade...

…to the tiresome strain of fighting for one’s freedom throughout the Americas, Europe and Africa, defying entrapment, forced labor and the reduction to a mere economic property…

… but, that, throughout, African Americans would never let white supremacy define them; they would find ways of educating themselves, of spreading information to one another to start a revolution and, eventually, make whites stop the barbaric practices of enslavement.

The museum reminds us that so many voices and perspectives were part of this movement of equality: women, students of color, academia and protesting all had roles that pushed for the liberty of black Americans, despite their work failing to have been recognized.

It’s not just about viewing, though; it’s about becoming part of history, too. Giving your voice to the museum lets you share your own personal experiences, allowing you to be part of the messages seen by other guests, as well as offering you the chance to reflect on your new knowledge.

The exhibition was astounding. I’m not just speaking of the information and items on display (my photography covers around one-eighth of them, at most), but the way it’s presented linearly and from the unique perspective of African Americans—history is reflected upon, but in a way that highlights the importance of their perspective and defiers of their oppression. I must say, it might be the only museum I’ve visited in which I saw guests teary-eyed.

To say my visit to the NMAAHC was excellent would be understating it: I’m telling you that, if you’re in D.C., you must visit. If you want to understand how the United States has been founded, what voices have been ignored and, more importantly, how these voices eventually brought the country to where it is today, visit the hell out of this museum.

Not only is it a remarkably beautiful piece of architecture, it’s free to enter, yet rich with documentation that explains American history in a manner many museums fail to do so: from the perspective of those it actually reports on. Such history needs to be better taught, as I've written about before, and places like this are a great way to teach yourself the information that's often left out.