Washington, D.C.’s National Mall is prime meeting real estate, especially with the new National Museum of African American History and Culture that opened September 24. If you’re holding an event at Washington Court Hotel on Capitol Hill, Hotel Harrington, or Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill this fall, build in time for attendees to explore the newest Smithsonian entity. Thirteen years in the making, the National Museum of African American History and Culture has come to fruition. It sits between the Washington Monument and the National Museum of American History. Groups can immerse themselves in the history of the African-American experience while in town in these three memorable ways.
> Fashion-Forward
More than 700 garments and 300 accessories make up the Black Fashion Museum collection, including slave bonnets; a dress Rosa Parks sewed before her arrest in Montgomery, Alabama; and the Tin Man costume from Broadway’s 1975 production of “The Wiz.”
> The Right Notes
Over time, the Music and Performing Arts collection showcases influential artists, including radio, film, and television leaders. The separate Visual Arts exhibit incorporates sculptures, paintings, photography, and other digital creations about and by African-Americans who helped bring social change.
> Brave Hearts
In 2010, which marked the 97th anniversary of Harriet Tubman’s death, the museum received a donation of 39 items that once belonged to the freedom fighter and cannot be seen anywhere else in the country.
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