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A workshop sponsored by the John Nicholas Brown Center and the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture

View workshop schedule and download presentations

Maps, directions, parking, dining, and more...

In 2003, the U.S. Congress passed legislation authorizing the creation of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC).  The museum, which is scheduled to open its doors in 2015, represents an unparalleled opportunity to explore the rich legacy of African American experiences for millions of visitors from across the country and around the world. Yet developing the museum and its programming also presents a variety of challenges. How are African American history and culture to be portrayed? How will NMAAHC relate to other institutions – museums, historic sites, state and local historical societies – with a shared mission of exploring the African American experience? How can New England museums contribute to the national story? And how can the NMAAHC help make local institutions better and stronger?

Please join us for Sharing Stories: Interpreting African American History for New England and the Nation, a workshop dedicated to exploring these and similar questions. The gathering, which is jointly sponsored by the John Nicholas Brown Center at Brown University and the National Museum of African American History and Culture, will bring together the director and senior staff of NMAAHC along with representatives of a wide range of public history and cultural institutions in New England, as well as interested scholars, teachers, and students, for two days of conversations about shared concerns. The workshop begins with a keynote address by Lonnie G. Bunch III, founding director of the NMAAHC (see below). Workshop sessions on Friday and Saturday will focus on innovative educational programs and freedom tours, interpreting slavery and freedom in historic homes, new directions for art museums and cultural tourism, and other topics. The workshop will also feature a presentation about the programs of Amistad America and a walking tour given by the Rhode Island Black Heritage Society.

Keynote address by Lonnie G. Bunch III

"The Challenge of Building a National Museum" Thursday, November 29, 2007 7:30 p.m. MacMillan Hall, Room 117 Brown University Historian, author, curator, and educator, Bunch is at the helm of the Smithsonian’s 19th and newest museum, the National Museum of African American History and Culture. In this position he is working to set the museum's mission, coordinate its fundraising and membership campaigns, develop its collections and establish partnerships. As a public historian, Bunch has spent nearly 30 years in the museum field and has published widely on topics ranging from the African American military experience and all-black towns in the American west to diversity in museum management. Free and open to the public.