Finally: An African-American Smithsonian Museum

Yep. That’s where it’s going to be (knock on wood). The Smithsonian institute has chosen that space to put the National Museum of African-American History and Culture.

The $300 million to $500 million museum is expected to take another decade to build and open.

Director of the museum Lonnie Bunch, who was the president of the Chicago Historical Society until March, can now find an architect and raise money in earnest. The federal government has agreed to pay for half of it, according to the legislation.

The State Of . . . American History would be the same without our history. Now the challenge is to raise funds. A few months back we posted a story about how the Ali Center in Kentucky struggled to raise funds and had to depend on Lennox Lewis for the bulk of it when they couldn’t find money in America. Will we step up to the plate and donate the funds needed for this museum? We damn well better.