A People’s Journey, A Nation’s Story

Welcome to the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture

Reopening Information for Visitors
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The National Museum of African American History and Culture is now open to the public. As we gradually reopen the museum, we’re putting safety first with enhanced measures in place to ensure the safety and well-being of visitors, volunteers and staff.

The museum is closed on Monday and Tuesday and open Wednesday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m., except Dec. 25. Visitors are able to enter the museum until 4:00 p.m. Free timed-entry passes are required for entry. 

Photograph of Frederick Douglass, circa 1879
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A Nation's Story: “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?”

In July of 1852, Frederick Douglass delivered a speech titled “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?,” a call for the promise of liberty be applied equally to all Americans. Douglass’s speech emphasized that American slavery and American freedom is a shared history and that the actions of ordinary men and women, demanding freedom, transformed our nation.
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Explore the Collection

Discover new signature objects from the museum's collection

Handkerchief owned by Harriet Tubman, 1870s - early 20th century

Gift of Charles L. Blockson
Straw hat owned by Rosa Parks, 1960s-1980s

Straw hat owned by Rosa Parks, 1960s-1980s

Gift of the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and the Library of Congress
Ivory coat worn by Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope on “Scandal,” 2013

Ivory coat worn by Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope on “Scandal,” 2013

Gift of Walt Disney Television
White hat used on the show "Scandal", 2013

White hat used on the show "Scandal", 2013

Gift of Walt Disney Television
Straw hat owned by Rosa Parks, 1960s-1980s
Ivory coat worn by Kerry Washington as Olivia Pope on “Scandal,” 2013
White hat used on the show "Scandal", 2013

The African American experience is the lens through which we understand what it is to be an American.

Lonnie G. Bunch III Founding Director, NMAAHC