The International Museum of African Americans opened privately in downtown Charleston on Saturday, according to local news reports.

The event reportedly attracted a large number of participants, including not only local residents but also local and national leaders. WCSC News. The South Carolina State Museum stands on the grounds of Gadsdens He Wharf, the site where about 100,000 Africans were once extradited and enslaved. The $120 million, 150,000-square-foot (14,000-square-meter) building with nine galleries showcases the work, perseverance, resistance, and culture of African Americans to the Carolinas, the United States, and the world. It is said that there are exhibits and crafts that explore how it was shaped.To Associated Press (AP Communications).

Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama also participated in a video message, according to a WCSC News report. “This is a powerful museum, a museum from which every American can learn something. It’s an important part of our collective history,” Obama said. In her address, Mrs. Obama said, “This museum is a bigger, broader, more complex picture of where we came from and who we are as a nation today. will be,” he said. (Related: Unknown dinosaur fossils found in museum archives)

“We are here to celebrate the untold stories of African Americans. and CEO, Dr. Tonya Matthews. #IAAMhere pic.twitter.com/CfuemiQNV0

— International African American Museum (@iaamuseum) June 24, 2023

According to WCSC news reports, the museum’s mission is to share the untold stories of African-American history.

The museum has been under construction for more than 20 years, thanks to former Charleston mayor Joseph Riley, who drew inspiration from the National Book Award-winning nonfiction book Slaves In The Family, according to the report. . Speaking at the event, Reilly said the truth about American history “sets us free. We are free to understand, respect, and appreciate the entire spectrum of our shared history.” Told.

South Carolina Democratic Rep. Jim Cliburn, who helped found the museum, spoke at the ceremony about his “resisting enslavement, winning over Jim Crow, and his tremendous contribution to the greatness of this nation.”

The museum’s president and CEO, Dr. Tonya Matthews, describes the museum’s site as a “sacred place” and part of it as “a space to tell one of the greatest stories of human struggle and triumph in history.” As” said about reusing and rethinking. . We are here to place the story of African Americans in its full context from 300 BC to his 2023 and beyond. ‘ said the report.

Poetry readings, musical performances, dancing, viewing parties, and presentations of local African American businesses included.

The museum is set to open to the public on Tuesday as a place of homecoming and pilgrimage for African Americans, according to an Associated Press report.