Afro-American Culture Museum inaugurated by Obama

President Barack Obama inaugurated on Saturday the new Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, praising the coexistence of “protest and love of country” and making reference to recent examples of racial tension in the U.S. More, he expressed his hope that this historic project that was finally built, will help all Americans "to talk and listen", AFP writes.

“This is the place to understand how protest and love of country don’t merely coexist but inform each other, how men can proudly win the gold for their country but still insist on raising a black-gloved fist, how we can wear an ‘I can’t breathe’ T-shirt and still grieve for fallen police officers,” President Barack Obama said.

The museum, an imposing edifice plated in bronze, it is devoted to the history and emancipation of blacks - slavery, racial segregation, fighting for the civil rights- and culture and society. It presents approximately 34,000 exhibits.

About the new museum, Obama also declared that: “reminds us that routine discrimination and Jim Crow aren’t ancient history – it’s just a blink in the eye of history. It was just yesterday. We should not be surprised that not all the healing is done. We shouldn’t despair that it’s not all solved, and knowing the larger story should remind us just how remarkable the changes that have taken place truly are.”
Former President George W. Bush, which ratified the museum project in 2003 after years of fighting with the opposition parties, was also present at the inauguration with his wife, Laura, and welcomed this "fabulous" museum.

The inauguration of the museum with an area of 37,000 square meters occurs in a context of new racial tensions, after the police killed in recent days two black men, one at Charlotte (NC) and the other at Tulsa (Oklahoma).