It seems as though every single day there is a new shooting with some sort of racist intension, and that's today! In 2016! Can you imagine what it was like in the '60s and '70s when racism was included in the social norm? Can you imagine what the media coverage would have been if it existed when Martin Luther King Jr. marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge? In today's society there is still a lot being covered up by the News Networks and the government to try and ensure nothing is wrong. The new opening of the the National Museum of African American History and Culture is a very big step forward for America. It has been an ongoing controversy in the United States, how to both interpret and display the history of African Americans in this country.
I believe one of the biggest reasons is because we as a country are not proud of what we had paved African American history in this country to look like. I'm not just talking about slavery, I'm talking about the hundreds of years of racism they faced throughout the expansions of the United States. Yes, both slavery and racism have been in the United States since the original colonies! Now how can we put all of those years behind us and make it a patriotic movement to forgive and forget about it? Oh! How about Black History Month? Lets just designate one twelfth of the year to their entire history as a people, as our apology. Honestly I have no problem with that, at least there is any recognition at all! But the major issue I have with that is that there is nothing physical - there's nothing there that's real for people to believe through their own eyes. For many people, seeing is believing, and I think this new museum can present the people with a chance to do just that.
I believe that the opening of this museum, right in the heart of the United States is a big step forward for America in terms of recognizing their history. The museum doesn't just commemorate the history and culture of African Americans, but physically shows it. It actually shows the artifacts, newspapers, photographs, and other physical evidence of the course of their history - their movement. I fully support the building of this museum and I think it will print a very clear picture in the minds of everybody who tours the museum. One that tells the story of their triumphant fight against slavery, for equal rights, access to education, and for a political voice - and that may lead to a significant decrease in the discrimination we still see today and in the future. Big step forward America.
