Page 8 - UF Spring 2017

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Photo Credit: National Museum of African
American History and Culture (NMAAHC)

by Dr. Lucie K. Lewis--
Creative Futures,
LLC,/Author: “I AM”

Renewal From Within
The Garden

33

Reflections on the National Museum of
African American History and Culture

Much has been said about the National Museum of 41
African American History and Culture. Its origins,
design and content have been well presented as a Photo Credit: National Museum of African American
part of its introduction and grand opening that History and Culture (NMAAHC)
occurred on September 24th. To that record, this
writer can only affirm that the museum is an incredible In this case, the corona is inspired by the three-tiered crowns
accomplishment—its structure and content a
remarkable statement on our presence as a people used in Yoruban art from West Africa. Moreover, the
and our contributions that have been central to the
growth of this nation. However, hearing about building’s main entrance is a welcoming porch, which has
it—reading about it—cannot do it justice. It is the
experience, the emotions, the memories that bring life architectural roots in Africa and throughout the African

56to the extraordinary feat. Diaspora, especially the American South and Caribbean.
As my husband and I approached the Museum on the
first day of our trip, it was an inhale-hold-your-breath- Finally, by wrapping the entire building in an ornamental
blown-away moment. The unique design and
architecture of the Museum stood it in stark contrast bronze-colored metal lattice, Adjaye the architects pays
to its surroundings and began to share its story even
before we entered. homage to the intricate ironwork that was crafted by
According to the Museum
(source:https://nmaahc.si.edu/explore/building) enslaved African Americans in Louisiana, South Carolina,
NMAAHC “integrated their architectural form with their
function or purpose… in the sense that the building and elsewhere. Continued on next page
(as a “container”) embraces its content—which is the
American story told through the lens of African 63
American history and culture.”
From one perspective, the building’s architecture
follows classical Greco-Roman form in its use of a
base and shaft, topped by a capital or corona.