National Museum of African American History and Culture presents Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 and The March on Washington, 1963. Opening Dec. 14.
t the March on Washington Aug. 28, 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. began his speech by declaring, “Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity….In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check.”
In 2013 the U.S. commemorates two events that changed the course of the nation—the 1863 Emancipation Proclamation and the 1963 March on Washington. Standing as milestone moments in American history, these achievements were the culmination of decades of struggles by individuals—both famous and unknown—who believed in the American promise that this nation was dedicated to the proposition that “all men are created equal.” Separated by 100 years, they are linked together in a larger story of freedom and the American experience.
To commemorate these two pivotal achievements, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, in collaboration with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History, is presenting an exhibition that explores the historical context of these two events, their accomplishments and limitations and their impact on the generations that followed.
“Changing America: The Emancipation Proclamation, 1863 and The March on Washington, 1963” will be on view in the NMAAHC Gallery from Dec. 14 through Sept. 15, 2013. The gallery is located in the National Museum of American History. Featuring historic photographs, paintings and new film footage, the exhibition will be accompanied by a new website and a series of public programs designed to examine the social and political currents that shaped these events.
Among the artifacts on display will be:
The inkstand used by President Abraham Lincoln in 1862 to draft a document “giving freedom to the slaves of the South,” which later became the Emancipation Proclamation
Lincoln’s top hat worn to Ford’s Theatre on the night he was assassinated, April 14, 1865
Items depicting slavery and resistance, including a whip, a runaway slave poster with reward information, a bible belonging to Nat Turner, who led an 1831 slave rebellion in Virginia, and a shawl given to abolitionist Harriet Tubman by Queen Victoria
Ten shards of stained glass from the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., where four young black girls were killed in an explosion
The guitar played by singer Joan Baez at the 1963 March on Washington
Pen used by President Lyndon Johnson to sign the Civil Rights Act of 1964
Various objects from the March on Washington, including organizing documents, protest signs, platform passes for speakers and guests, buttons, a marshal’s armband and a map of the National Mall area
For more information, visit www.nmaahc.si.edu