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Obama at black history museum opening: ‘We are America’

by Nikita Vladimirov

President Obama celebrated the complexities and contradictions of black history in America as an intrinsic part of the larger story of the country at the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., Saturday.

{mosads}African-American history is “a glorious story … that perhaps needs to be told now more than ever,” he said, speaking after former President George W. Bush.

Obama stressed that African-American history extends beyond slavery and segregation and encompasses sports legends like Jackie Robinson and the ongoing Black Lives Matter movement. He said lessons learned at the museum could put current events — namely protests over the the deaths of black men at the hands of police — in context.

“This is the place to understand how protest and love of country don’t merely coexist but inform each other. A man can proudly win a gold for their country but still insist on raising a black gloved fist. How he can wear an ‘I cant breathe’ T-shirt and sill grieve for fallen police officers,” he said to the applauding crowd.
 
“We are large, containing multitudes, full of contradictions — thats America,” he added.
 
Obama said stories of African-Americans have often been overlooked but played an important role in shaping the country, stressing that American history and African-American history are not separate ideas.
“We are America. And thats what this museum explains, the fact that our stories that our stories have shaped every corner of our culture. The struggles for freedom made our constitution and real and living document.” 

Obama also emphasized that U.S. has work to do to end all forms of racism and prejudice, but told the crowd not to be discouraged that things aren’t yet perfect.

 
“A museum alone will not alleviate poverty in every inner city,” he said, adding that ending racism and solving other problems facing the black community “is up to us.”