When Lonnie G. Bunch III outlines plans for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the historian can barely sit still. This is a buoyant man on the move, overseeing the design for what could be the last major building on the National Mall; urging citizens to bring their family mementos out of…

The long-awaited National Museum of African American History and Culture took an important step forward yesterday with the selection of an architectural and design team. The Smithsonian, which is overseeing the $500 million project on the Mall, chose Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup as the firm that will design the signature building across the street from the…

Bill Cosby, one of the country’s most enduring and familiar entertainers, has been selected to receive this year’s Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, the Kennedy Center announced this morning. Cosby, 71, has conquered many media platforms in his nearly 50 years in show business, from stand-up to recordings to television to publishing. His wide-ranging…

The future National Museum of African American History and Culture — as envisioned by competing teams of architects — will most likely include water features and music halls, evocations of slave ships and the African past, and vistas acknowledging its important, monumental neighbors. Yesterday, the Smithsonian Institution unveiled conceptual designs from six prominent architecture teams…