In the latest current news, the National Museum of African American History and Culture has recently opened in Washington D.C., and is a poignant reminder of the treatment of African Americans throughout our country’s history.

While this does not have anything to do with the latest entertainment news, celebrity gossip, or Hollywood news, this museum is making headlines throughout the nation.

Located on the Washington Mall, this 400,000 square-foot museum is a testament to America’s guarded past in hopes of bringing acknowledgement to the trials and tribulations of African Americans. The museum houses more than 36,000 artifacts that are meant to educate museum-goers, and some of the artifacts include Ku Klux Clan outfits, slave shackles, art that focuses on civil unrest, and portraits of some prominent African American leaders like Harriett Tubman and Sojourner Truth. There are even the uneven bar grips used by black gymnast Gabby Douglas in the 2012 London Summer Olympics.

The exhibits follow a path from the Transatlantic slave trade, gaining American citizenship, the civil rights movement, the Black Panthers, black feminism, and the current Black Lives Matter movement. At the end of the museum is a circular fountain and pool, where museum goers are encouraged to sit and remember the atrocities of day’s past.

The museum itself is striking, made of bronze metal that is meant to stick out from the buildings around it. The whole purpose of the museum is to memorialize the past, and it has caused many celebrations across Washington D.C. in the week leading up to the opening.

President Barack Obama, the first black president of the United States, opened up the museum with a speech that focused on how African American culture is the center of America’s history. The museum was inundated with visitors within the first couple days, so much so that it is sold out currently. Anyone from celebrities, fraternity groups, school trips, and church congregations were seen spending the entire day in the museum. There are also civil rights survivors, in particular one lady who was sent away from the South as a child as the rules against blacks were too harsh to live in.

Despite the current news portraying negative stories about racial discrimination by governmental officials, the opening of the museum is a turn in the right direction.
In light of the opening of this museum, it is important to think about some African American celebrities who have been making headlines this summer. Football star Colin Kaepernick has been all over Hollywood news for refusing to stand up and pay his respects during the national anthem playing at his football games. He is doing this in order to protest the injustices African Americans have been receiving from police officers nationwide.

Secondly there is Simone Biles, the gymnast who is making every Hollywood news site for flipping her way to gold during the Rio Olympics. Her determination and extreme skill has inspired girls all over the country to achieve their dreams, and is one of the most celebrated African American gymnasts in American history.In fact, President Obama has even invited Biles and the Woman’s Olympic gymnastic team to