spark317
Dec 5, 2003, 3:10 PM
By ADRIENNE SCHWISOW
Associated Press Writer
Published December 4, 2003
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- Ground was broken Wednesday for the U.S. National Slavery Museum, with the project's architect saying he hopes the museum can heal racial rifts left by centuries of human bondage.
"One of the reasons the story of slavery in America has not been told is because there is so much guilt about it. If you can explain how the African who became an African-American influenced society, then you can take away some of that guilt," Chien Chung Pei said after the ceremony.
Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, the nation's only elected black governor and the grandson of slaves, is leading the project. He said he expects construction to start in late 2004 and hopes for completion by 2007.
The museum already has started collecting artifacts and exhibits, roughly 30 of which were displayed at the ceremonial groundbreaking. Among the items are a U.S. census book from 1840 and wooden statues from the African Bambara tribe donated by former missionaries to Liberia.
There are approximately 3,000 museums in the United States. The U.S. National Slavery Museum is expected to be unique, with a focus extending beyond the enslavement of Africans in America to include, for example, indentured servitude and the importation of Chinese laborers to build railroads in the West.
On the Net:
http://www.usnationalslaverymuseum.org
Associated Press Writer
Published December 4, 2003
FREDERICKSBURG, Va. -- Ground was broken Wednesday for the U.S. National Slavery Museum, with the project's architect saying he hopes the museum can heal racial rifts left by centuries of human bondage.
"One of the reasons the story of slavery in America has not been told is because there is so much guilt about it. If you can explain how the African who became an African-American influenced society, then you can take away some of that guilt," Chien Chung Pei said after the ceremony.
Former Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, the nation's only elected black governor and the grandson of slaves, is leading the project. He said he expects construction to start in late 2004 and hopes for completion by 2007.
The museum already has started collecting artifacts and exhibits, roughly 30 of which were displayed at the ceremonial groundbreaking. Among the items are a U.S. census book from 1840 and wooden statues from the African Bambara tribe donated by former missionaries to Liberia.
There are approximately 3,000 museums in the United States. The U.S. National Slavery Museum is expected to be unique, with a focus extending beyond the enslavement of Africans in America to include, for example, indentured servitude and the importation of Chinese laborers to build railroads in the West.
On the Net:
http://www.usnationalslaverymuseum.org