LYNN — The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture opens tomorrow in Washington D.C. And the Lynn Museum is one of only three Massachusetts institutions joining the celebration in a big way.
“A Place for All People” is a historic poster exhibit celebrating the opening of the newest Smithsonian museum.
The Lynn Museum will display about 20 posters from the exhibit in its first-floor gallery starting Saturday, Sept. 24 at 10 a.m. There will be a brief program, and the Lynn community is invited to join this national celebration of African American history and culture. Admission is free and open to the public, as part of the Lynn Museum’s participation in “Trails and Sails.”
“The Smithsonian was looking for institutions to be a part of this, to help celebrate the opening of the national museum in Washington, DC, and we responded immediately,” said Drew Russo, executive director of the Lynn Museum. “We are glad to be able to bring this exhibit to Lynn, which has such a rich African American history, dating back to Frederick Douglass and the abolitionists up to the 20th and 21st centuries, when Abner Darby, Virginia Barton … and the Darrell Murkisons and others of today who continue to enrich and enliven the community.”
The poster exhibit will remain in Lynn through Nov. 12, thanks to the support of the Smithsonian Institution’s Office of the Provost.
The National Museum of African American History and Culture explains the exhibit thusly: “The African American story is one characterized by pain and glory, power and civility, enslavement and freedom. ‘A Place for All People’ will evoke the power of oration and freedom stories, the brilliance of artistic achievement, and the soaring heights of cultural expression, philosophy, sports, and politics. In addition to profiling the long struggle to create the museum, the building’s architectural design and its prominent location on the National Mall, the poster exhibit is a survey of the African American community’s powerful, deep and lasting contributions to the American story.”