We respectfully petition Congress and the Smithsonian Institution to consider renaming the National Museum of African American History and Culture as the National Museum of Foundational Black American History and Culture.

Congress established the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2003 to preserve and present a history deeply rooted in the United States. Federal law specifically identifies slavery, Reconstruction, the Harlem Renaissance, and the Civil Rights Movement among the periods the museum was created to document.

The descendants of Black Americans whose families endured slavery and its aftermath in the United States developed a distinct American ethnic and cultural heritage over generations.  Today, the term “African American” can be interpreted broadly and may encompass Americans with many different African and African-diaspora backgrounds. Those histories are important and deserve recognition. However, sharing a racial classification does not necessarily mean sharing the same ethnicity, historical experience, or lineage.

We propose consideration of the name:

National Museum of Foundational Black American History and Culture