What a treat!

Today I had the chance to visit Washington's newest museum: the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Entrance tickets right now are booked through April of next year and it's thanks to a friend of mine that I managed to squeeze in ahead of that long queue!

And it was an amazing experience. Architecturally, the building is splendid. Substantively, just as much.

Visitors start the chronological journey 3 floors below ground in year 1400 just as European powers of the day started the trade of slaves (led by the Brits, Spain, France and the Netherlands). A whole wall is carved with the names of ships, the year they sailed and the number of people who were enslaved and the ones who survived. One sticks in my head: the St Michel which boarded 175 slaves, of which one survived the trip... These first underground floors are somber (in lighting and in mood) and depict some stark and difficult realities. 

As one progresses through the timeline, the lighting brightens as the conditions of African Americans improve, although not without substantial struggles to achieve equality and freedom. It was worrisome to notice that some old themes are still very much prevalent nowadays - in fact, have become highlighted through these troublesome elections of ours...

The four floors above ground are exuberant and celebrate the achievements of African Americans -- in sports, music, dance, theater, the arts and politics. There's a profusion of multimedia and interactive exhibits that engage everyone of our senses. So much so that I went in complete overload. I think this is one of those museums that will require multiple visits to fully absorb all it has to offer. 

Here's a collection of the other shots