smithsonian
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Kobe Bryant’s 2008 Finals Jersey Put on Display in the Smithsonian
In honor of the late Kobe Bryant, the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture has displayed the jersey he wore during the 2008 NBA Finals. According to CBS News, the jersey was displayed as part of its “Sports: Leveling the Playing Field,” gallery. Bryant was a founding donor of the museum, with…
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It's Official: Beyoncé Belongs in the Smithsonian
Last year, Beyoncé helped make history when she approved Tyler Mitchell to photograph her for the cover of the September 2018 issue of American Vogue, making the then-23-year-old the first black photographer—and one of the youngest—to shoot the cover of the world’s best-known fashion magazine in its 126-year history. In the year since, that barrier-breaking…
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Lonnie Bunch III Becomes First Ever Black Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
Try as they may, black excellence can only be denied for so long. To that point, congratulations are in order to Lonnie G. Bunch III—founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture—who cracked the code and just became the first black person in the 173-year history of the Smithsonian Institution to…
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Justice Clarence Thomas Gets Exhibit in National Museum of African American History and Culture
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture unveiled its latest exhibit, one featuring Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a figure whose absence from the museum when it opened a year ago raised eyebrows among conservatives. According to the Washington Times, Thomas appears as part of an exhibit that was installed just before…
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Noose Found Hanging From Tree Outside DC Museum
A noose was found hanging from a tree outside the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Gardens in Washington, D.C., early Friday evening, according to authorities. A criminal investigation is underway. The Washington Post reports that the museum had been closed for about an hour when a security guard discovered the noose and called the U.S. Park…
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Johnnetta B. Cole Is a Force of Nature
Johnnetta Betsch Cole, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, turned 80 years old Wednesday, and the stunning educator, humanitarian, anthropologist and mentor to many says it’s wonderful to turn what she calls “40 years old times two.” “I’m so conscious of what I would call a disconnect between the very words ‘80 years…
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Emmett Till's Casket Is ‘One of Our Most Sacred Objects’ at African-American History Museum
Curating for a museum is no doubt a difficult job, and one of the more difficult decisions that Lonnie Bunch III—founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture—remembers grappling with was whether to include the casket that once held the brutalized remains of Emmett Till. “I remember struggling with, ‘Should we…
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212 Slaves Died on the São José Ship; This New Exhibit Will Share Their Story
Paul Gardullo lifted an iron ballast from a Portuguese slave ship that sank in 1794 out of a crate Wednesday morning and hefted its weight in his hands. “Anytime I come into contact with the objects from the São José, it’s an incredibly moving experience,” said the curator of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American…