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National Museum of African American History and Culture

Smithsonian African American Museum Director Placed on Leave
NationalNews (Business)

Smithsonian African American Museum Director Placed on Leave

Stacy M. BrownApril 2, 2025

By Stacy M. Brown BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent Kevin Young, the director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), is currently on personal leave and not leading the museum, according to Smithsonian officials. The leave began on March 14 and will continue for an “undetermined period,” according to Kevin Gover, the Smithsonian’s under-secretary for museums and culture. Shanita Brackett, the museum’s associate director of operations, has stepped in as acting director. Young has served as director since January 2021, succeeding Lonnie G. Bunch III after Bunch became Secretary of the Smithsonian. Under Young’s leadership, the museum

Senate Education Chair blocks bipartisan bill to extend HBCU funding
BusinessCharlene CrowellEducationNews (Business)Opinion

Senate Education Chair blocks bipartisan bill to extend HBCU funding

Charlene CrowellOctober 10, 2019

Each year as families beam with pride at seeing a son, daughter or another relative graduate from college, that achievement is nearly always the result of a family’s commitment to higher education.  And when these institutions are among the more than 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), that pride is magnified by the history of how our forefathers overcame what once seemed to be insurmountable challenges.

Black Press Exclusive: Dr. Lonnie Bunch’s African American Museum Dream Fulfilled
NationalNews

Black Press Exclusive: Dr. Lonnie Bunch’s African American Museum Dream Fulfilled

Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire CorrespondentSeptember 26, 2019

During the intimate video-taped interview inside the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the two visionaries also tackled topics that ranged from the Transatlantic Slave Trade, their shared North Carolina families’ histories, the writing legacy of author James Baldwin, and the contemporary vitality of the Black Press of America.

Smithsonian Regents Name Lonnie Bunch 14th Smithsonian Secretary
BusinessHistory

Smithsonian Regents Name Lonnie Bunch 14th Smithsonian Secretary

Sentinel News WireMay 30, 2019

The Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents announced today it elected Lonnie G. Bunch III, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, as the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian, effective June 16. Bunch is the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in September 2016. He oversees the nation’s largest and most comprehensive cultural destination devoted exclusively to exploring, documenting and showcasing the African American story and its impact on American and world history. Bunch’s election is unprecedented for the Smithsonian: He will be the first African American to

NAACP Celebrates 110th Anniversary of Freedom Fighting
HistoryNationalNews

NAACP Celebrates 110th Anniversary of Freedom Fighting

Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire CorrespondentFebruary 21, 2019

“Had there been no May 17, 1954 (the day the Supreme Court ruled in Brown V. Board of Education), I’m not sure there would have been a Little Rock. I’m not sure there would have been a Martin Luther King Jr., or Rosa Parks, had it not been for May 17, 1954. It created an environment for us to push, for us to pull,” Lewis said.