Bunch talks about building national museum

Historian Lonnie Bunch, Director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), discussed the obstacles he faces as he tries to establish a museum that is memorable and "quintessentially American" this past Tuesday Hopkins's Program in Museum and Society and Center for Africana Studies collaborated to bring this event to Hopkins this past Tuesday.

"[The event] was so well attended and attracted a crowd from both within the university and from outside the university...Dr. Bunch's talk had that rare combination of rigorous scholarship and public appeal. It was both intellectually stimulating and moving, enlightening and deeply human. The event also marked a long awaited first for the Program in Museums and Society: the chance to collaborate with the Center for Africana Studies," Jennifer Kingsley, Administrator and Lecturer for the Program in Museums and Society, wrote in an email to The News-Letter.

Bunch opened his lecture by narrating his visits to multiple plantations for an exhibition project. He visited a rice plantation outside of Georgetown, South Carolina, where there were 10 to 15 slave cabins.

Here, he met an old man, about 92 or 93 years old, named Mr. Johnson — Bunch does not remember his first name. Mr. Johnson took Bunch to each side of the cabin in which he lived. At the front, he told Bunch about how his family preserved the limited living space they had, moving to the side, he talked about where the children did their chores. After, they went to the cabin's rear and Mr. Johnson told how his grandmother grew crops to supplement the rest of the harvest.

Bunch then made his way to the final side of the cabin.

"Mr. Johnson what happened over here?" Bunch said, narrating the story.

Mr. Johnson refused to go to the fourth side of the cabin. But Bunch persisted. He started to venture away from the cabin to explore the territory.

"So as a young scholar I thought I was going to discover something really important," Bunch said. "And he said ‘I'm not going over there because there's nothing but rattle snakes.' I'm going to tell you that's when I stopped running."

The crowd, sitting in Gilman 50, laughed.

Bunch recalled that he asked Mr. Johnson why he did not tell him about the rattle snakes earlier.

"People used to remember now all they do is forget," Mr. Johnson said to him.

"Then he told me something that has shaped my entire career," Bunch said. "I'm not sure what a historian is but your job ought to be to help people remember not just what they want but what they need."

Bunch's talk took off from there. His presentation was one of laughs and seriousness. He described the 100 year struggle that has finally yielded an African American presence at the National Mall, as well as the growth of the staff. Beginning with two staffers, it has increased to nearly 100.

The plan of building museum at the mall specifically focused on African American history and culture has been in the works since 1913, according to Bunch. The idea was contested by politicians and legislation. However, in 2003, there was bi-partisan support to pass legislation enabling the creation of a museum for African American culture in DC.

"It also had 50 years of brilliant academic scholarship," Bunch said, when discussing for reasons for the legislation's success. "The Smithsonian is a place where scholarship is the engine and in order to get the excitement of the Smithsonian, there needed to be that sense that there was that scholarship on African American culture."

In July 2005, Bunch was appointed as the Director of the NMAAHC.

He outlined the goals he seeks to have NMAAHC accomplish for its audience, visitors and Americans. "The desire of the museum was to craft a place that would allow the public to wrestle and revel in African American culture from a deep insider's perspective. In essence, this museum has to be a place that helps America confront its tortured racial past," Bunch said.

Bunch continued to talk about how the NMAAHC's mission is not only to attract visitors to explore African American History, but also to spark curiosity in its audience. He wants to create lasting intellectual interest that will compel tourists to visit their local museums in their hometown.

Additionally, Bunch addressed the possible overlaps between the NMAAHC and the National Museum of American History. He hopes that the NMAAHC will instigate interactions between all of the museums at the National Mall.

Bunch's views on his job are powerful and serious.

"I have to be honest, if the museum simply helps you remember, I'm not convinced it ought to be a national museum," Bunch said. "In some ways, the challenge of this museum is to recognize that what it has to do it has to position itself as not an African American museum for African Americans, but in essence a museum that is quintessentially American."

Students, faculty and non-affiliates filled the auditorium to listen to Bunch. Generally, the audience thought Bunch was engaging and insightful.

"Dr. Bunch spoke of many challenges, some expected — what it was like to accept the job of creating a museum from scratch, and some less so — the incredible degree of personal investment Americans all over the country have in this museum," Kingsley wrote. "The stakes are so much higher than I imagined before hearing his talk. What I took away from Bunch's talk in particular is his strong emphasis on the ‘national' in [the NMAAHC]. As a museum devoted to African-American history and culture, the NMAAHC may appear at first glance to be what some have called an ‘identity' museum, that is, a museum devoted to the self-presentation of one particular community...Bunch argues that the NMAAHC is an American museum that expresses American values and tells an American story, just does so through a particular lens, one of great significance for the U.S."

At the conclusion of the event, Bunch presented a virtual tour of how the museum will look when completed. The NMAAHC is slated to open in 2015.