Title
Honoring, recognizing, and congratulating the African American Museum in Philadelphia, in celebration of the Museum's 40th Anniversary.
Body
WHEREAS, The African American Museum in Philadelphia was originally founded in 1976, in anticipation of the United States Bicentennial celebration. The Museum was the first institution founded by a major city with the mission of memorializing the heritage and history of the African American community; and
WHEREAS, In the 40 years since its founding, the African American Museum in Philadelphia has evolved into a nationally recognized institution for African American history and culture, fulfilling its mission of presenting "the achievements and aspirations of African Americans from pre-colonial times to the current day;" and
WHEREAS, The Museum's collection, numbering more than 750,000 objects, images and documents, is anchored in three dominant themes related to the African American experience: the African Diaspora, the Contemporary Narrative, and the Philadelphia Story; and
WHEREAS, The African American Museum's collection proudly highlights the central role that the City of Philadelphia has played in the African American experience, a history which dates back to the nation's independence to the colonial era. The Museum's permanent exhibit Audacious Freedom: African Americans in Philadelphia 1776-1876 tells the remarkable stories of pioneering figures in the fight for equality such as Octavius Catto, Richard Allen, and Frances Ellen Watkins Harper; and
WHEREAS, The African American Museum in Philadelphia is the current owner and custodian of the Smithsonian's remarkable traveling exhibit, 381 Days: The Montgomery Bus Boycott, which documents that pivotal event and its role in the broader movement for African American civil rights; and
WHEREAS, The African American Museum's mission of engaging diverse communities with the art, history, and culture of the African American community has been crucial ...
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