Museum on the Web!

By James Neusom

We as Blacks (meaning the decedents of American slaves) are a unique people on this planet.  We have earned a special place in world history and now the new National Museum of African American History and Culture (www.nmaahc.si.edu) is offering YOU a chance to tell your personal story (remember my Juneteenth series on living Black history, see http://www.blackwebportal.com/wire/AuthorContent.cfm?PartnerID=57).

The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NAMAAHC) is a new museum being built on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. The museum was established on December 19, 2003, through federal legislation and is projected to open it's physical doors in 2015.  NAMAAHC is dedicated to the great contributions Blacks have made to American society. I like the way Lonnie Bunch (the museum Director) puts it; NAMAAHC will be a place of meaning, of memory, of reflection, of laughter, and of hope. It should be a beacon that reminds us of what we were; what challenges we still face; and point us towards what we can become.

NAMAAHC first project has been to create The Museum on the Web: a unique online experience that brings the stories of African American History to a global audience. Conceived from the very beginning as a fully virtual precursor to the museum to be built on the Washington Mall, this is the first time a major museum is opening its doors on the Web prior to its physical existence....And YOU can be a part of it!

The centerpiece of the NMAAHC Museum on the Web, are the collected reminiscences of ordinary Americans. These stories, called "memories" are collected as text, images, and audio uploads in the virtual Memory Book where website visitors are encouraged to submit their own histories, traditions, thoughts and ideas. Memories are then associated visually with other aspects of the museum's holdings and scholarship, such as photographic portraits from the Let Your Motto Be Resistance traveling exhibit or the Save Our African American Treasures program. Memory Book contributions may also be associated with offerings from other visitors, enabling the creation of a dynamic social network for the NMAAHC community.

Now is the time to make your families personal experience and history part of the national American shared memory...

Peace and Gods Blessings,

Jim Neusom

http://www.citylightssoftware.com)