National Museum of the American People

The National Museum of the American People is a proposed museum to be built in Washington, D.C.[1] Its plan is to tell the story about the making of the American People including the migration and immigration stories of all Americans. The National Museum of the American People would use the museum story-telling approach used by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

A proposed design of the National Museum of the American People at the Banneker Overlook site in Washington, D.C. at the south end of L'Enfant Promenade Design concept by MTFA Architecture.

Overview

Proposed by the Coalition for the National Museum of the American People, composed of more than 250 ethnic, nationality and genealogical private non-profit organizations as of 2019,[2] the museum "will tell the story of every American ethnic and cultural group coming to this land and nation from every corner of the world, from the first people through today."[3] The museum also has the support of 19 organizations that focus on refugees and immigration including the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church, National Association of Evangelicals and Church World Service.[4]

History

The Coalition for the National Museum of the American People was created by Sam Eskenazi, former Director of Public Information for the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. The concept for the museum originated in the late 90s when Eskenazi was passing the USDA Headquarters Building, the only office building on the National Mall. Eskenazi asked and answered a question to himself:

"If this were a museum, what kind of museum could it be?" The answer: a museum that would tell the stories of all of the peoples coming to this land. I came up with a name for the museum on the spot - the National Museum of the American People. It is a testament to the need for the museum that many people, when told about the proposal, were surprised that such a museum doesn't already exist.[5]

On September 11, 2008, Congressman Maurice Hinchey introduced a bill, H.R. 6883, into the 110th United States Congress to "establish a commission to study the establishment of the National Museum of the American People...".[6] Eskenazi then started a coalition of private not-for-profit ethnic and nationality groups to support the creation of the museum in 2009. The organization announced this project at a press event in February, 2011 and began gathering support in Congress.[7][8] Beginning that year, Rep. Jim Moran, Sen. Brian Schatz and various cosponsors have introduced into the United States Congress legislation that would support a bipartisan study on the creation of such a museum without using any federal taxpayer funds.[7][9][10][11] Shortly thereafter the Washington City Paper named it the "Best Museum That Doesn't Exist Yet" in the newspaper's "Best Of D.C. 2011" issue.[12]

In May 2011, Congressman Jim Moran agreed to be the originating sponsor of a resolution calling for a study group, expressing concerns about balkanization of the National Mall.[13] In partnership with Eskenazi's Coalition for the National Museum of the American People, Moran introduced into the 112th United States Congress on July 7, 2011, a concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 63, "supporting the formation of a bipartisan Presidential Commission to study the establishment of a National Museum of the American People".[14] On March 19, 2013, Moran reintroduced the resolution H. Con. Res. 27 into the 113th Congress.[10] It had 48 bipartisan sponsors. In 2015, Senator Brian Schatz introduced a similar resolution into the Senate.[15]

Location planning is limited by the lack of available locations in the central Washington, DC area, whether for the NMAP or another museum.[16] One site proposed for the museum is an overlook at the south end of L'Enfant Promenade that now contains the National Park Service's Benjamin Banneker Park, a half mile (800 m) south of the Smithsonian Institution's Castle Building on the National Mall.[17]

Museum contents and exhibitions
Logo of the Coalition for the National Museum of the American People

The museum project creators have proposed a number of components to be considered for a final institution. Among these are a permanent exhibition (tentatively called The Story of the American People), a Center for the Advanced Study of the American People drawing upon a group of over 145 scholars who have offered their support to the project,[18] a National Genealogical Center, an Education and Resource Center and an archival library of American Migration and Immigration.[19]

In addition, the permanent collection is intended to be presented in a narrative manner, told in four chapters:[20]

Chapter I, The First Peoples Come, 20,000 before present (est.)-1607[21]
Chapter II, The Nation Takes Form, 1607-1820[22]
Chapter III, The Great In-Gathering, 1820-1924[23]
Chapter IV, And Still They Come, 1924–present[24]

References
  1. Parker, Loanne (28 March 2014). "Which Museums Show Real Promise?". Washington Post. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  2. Eskenazi, Sam (2019-06-01). "250 Organizations Supporting National Museum of the American People". National Museum of the American People. Coalition of the National Museum of the American People. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  3. Eskenazi, Sam (2012-04-12). "47 Different Ethnic Groups Ask House to Support National Museum of the American People Study" (PDF). Press Release. Coalition of the National Museum of the American People. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  4. Eskenazi, Sam (2019-05-01). "19 Immigration Organizations Support National Museum of the American People". National Museum of the American People. Coalition of the National Museum of the American People. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
  5. Eskenazi, Sam (2019-05-01). "The Story Behind the Museum". National Museum of the American People. Coalition of the National Museum of the American People. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
  6. Hinchey, Maurice (2008-09-11). "H.R. 6883, 110th Congress, 2d Session: National Commission to Study the Establishment of the National Museum of the American People Act of 2008" (PDF). Government Printing Office. Retrieved 2011-10-06.
  7. Trescott, Jacqueline (2011-02-09). "Coalition supports a new museum for "American People"". Arts Post. The Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  8. Persinko, Tim (2011-02-10). "Another Museum May Land on the National Mall". NBC 4 Washington. NBCUniversal. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  9. Zongker, Brett, (Associated Press) (2011-07-07). "Lawmakers seek new immigration museum in DC". Local News. WTOP. Archived from the original on 2014-03-01. Retrieved 2012-06-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. (1) "Rep. Moran Seeks Study in Support of New Museum". Arlington Sun Gazette. McLean, Virginia: Sun Gazette Newspapers. 2013-03-29. Archived from the original on 2013-09-17. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
    (2) Moran, Jim (2013-03-19). "H. Con. Res. 27, 113th Congress, 1st Session: Supporting the formation of a bipartisan Presidential Commission to study the establishment of a National Museum of the American People" (PDF). Government Printing Office. Retrieved 2013-09-16.
    (3) "Bill Summary & Status: 113th Congress (2013 - 2014): H. CON. RES. 27: All Congressional Actions". Congress.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved 2013-01-09.
  11. Conneen, Mike (2011-07-09). "Group wants to build National Museum of the American People immigration museum". TBD. Allbritton Communications Company. Archived from the original on 2012-03-20. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  12. DePillis, Lydia. "Best Museum That Doesn't Exist Yet". Washington City Paper. CL Washington, Inc. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
  13. Hopkinson, Natalie (2011-05-20). "Will White People Go to the National Black Museum?". The Root. The Slate Group, a Division of The Washington Post Company. Archived from the original on 2012-06-15. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  14. (1) Moran, Jim (2012-06-18). "Telling the story of all Americans". Politico. Arlington, Virginia: Politico LLC. Retrieved 2011-09-21.
    (2) Moran, Jim (2011-07-07). "H. Con. Res. 63, 112th Congress, 1st Session: Supporting the formation of a bipartisan Presidential Commission to study the establishment of a National Museum of the American People" (PDF). Government Printing Office. Retrieved 2011-10-05.
  15. Bowman, Bridget (2015-10-19). "National Museum of the American People Gets Senator's Support". RollCall. Roll Call. Retrieved 2019-07-09.
  16. Freed, Benjamin. "The Next Great Smithsonian Museum Won't Fit on the Mall". Washingtonian. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  17. (1) "Stunning Design Suggested for National American People Museum At Washington, DC's L'Enfant Plaza Overlook Site". National Museum of the American People. Coalition of the National Museum of the American People. 2011-05-03. Retrieved 2022-02-25.
    (2) Roig-Franzia, Manuel (2011-09-30). "Proposed 'melting pot' of American history: One museum over all?". Lifestyle. The Washington Post. Retrieved 2011-10-05.
    (3) Environmental Assessment for Improvements to L'Enfant Promenade and Benjamin Banneker Park (PDF). Department of Transportation, Government of the District of Columbia and Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division, Federal Highway Administration. June 2006. pp. 1–3, 1–4, 1–5, 1–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-09-16. Retrieved 2011-10-09.
  18. Eskenazi, Sam (2019-06-01). "145 Eminent Scholars Are Affiliated with Coalition". National Museum of the American People. Coalition of the National Museum of the American People. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  19. Eskenazi, Sam (2012-06-01). "Components". National Museum of the American People. Coalition of the National Museum of the American People. Retrieved 2019-11-15.
  20. (1) Lancaster, Jeffrey (2012-04-29). "Story of the Making of the American People". National Museum of the American People. Coalition of the National Museum of the American People. Archived from the original on 2012-03-30. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
    (2) "Coalition envisions new National Museum of the American People". News. Inpark Magazine. 2011-02-10. Retrieved 2012-06-18.
  21. Eskanazi, Sam (2018-12-13). "#6: Ch. 1 – First Peoples Come: 15-20,000 Years Ago – 1607". NMAP Blog. Coalition of the National Museum of the American People. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  22. Eskanazi, Sam (2018-12-18). "#7: Ch. 2 – The Nation Takes Form: 1607–1820". NMAP Blog. Coalition of the National Museum of the American People. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  23. Eskanazi, Sam (2018-12-20). "#8: Ch. 3 — The Great In-Gathering: 1820-1924". NMAP Blog. Coalition of the National Museum of the American People. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  24. Eskanazi, Sam (2019-01-03). "#9: Ch. 4 — AND STILL THEY COME: 1924-2024". NMAP Blog. Coalition of the National Museum of the American People. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
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