It's coincidental. But could there be a better time to unveil a signature exhibit detailing African American history than now - as the nation stands poised to inaugurate its first black president?
And it's happening here in Philadelphia at the National Constitution Center. The "America I AM: The African American Imprint" exhibition opens today, the birth date of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and runs through May 3.
With artifacts celebrating nearly 500 years of African American history, the 15,000-square-foot exhibition will travel to other cities over the next four years.
There are some amazing items in this collection, lent by individuals and museums across the country. Among them, the actual "Doors of No Return" that African captives walked through before boarding slave ships leaving what is now Ghana. There's also the stool that Dr. King sat on while writing his "Letter From Birmingham Jail."
Many people and agencies deserve congratulations for putting the exhibit together, including the Cincinnati Museum Center and Arts and Exhibitions International. Kudos especially to public television's Tavis Smiley; this was his brainchild, and he personally solicited many of the lent artifacts.
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