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Exhibition Explores African Americans’ Imprint on U.S. and World

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African-American scholar W.E.B. Du Bois once asked, “Would America have been America without her Negro people?” The answer is an unequivocal “no,” according to an expansive traveling exhibition that explores more than 400 years of U.S. history.

Du Bois’ question was the inspiration for America I AM: The African American Imprint, which looks at the contributions of African Americans to every aspect of life in the United States. This impact is felt internationally as well, from the popularity of jazz and rap to the lasting inspiration of the civil rights movement.

America I Am came to the National Geographic Museum in Washington early in February for Black History Month. The exhibition presents multimedia displays and more than 200 historical and cultural artifacts, including a basketball jersey worn by legendary athlete Michael Jordan, a purple guitar belonging to the musician Prince and Louis Armstrong’s bugle.

America I AM was developed in partnership with talk-show host Tavis Smiley and the Cincinnati Museum Center. “We could not tell the whole story, but we’ve told a big part of the story of the huge impact of African Americans on our world,” said curator John E. Fleming, director emeritus of the Cincinnati Museum Center in Ohio.

ARTIFACTS OF STRUGGLE AND TRIUMPH

As early as the 1500s, African slaves were brought to what is now America by Spanish explorers. These Africans imported their culture to the New World, enriching local music, storytelling, cuisine and crafts, and bringing knowledge of advanced methods of farming, fishing and animal husbandry. The deep spiritual legacy of their African heritage gave them the strength and faith to endure the brutality with which they often were treated. The African influence on American culture increased exponentially during 300 years of slavery.

The exhibition includes many poignant artifacts, including the “Door of No Return” from the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, one of the portals through which millions of slaves passed to board ships bound for Europe and the Americas. Also featured are the arrest card on which Rosa Parks was fingerprinted after refusing to move to the back of the bus in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1955, and the door key and stool from the jail cell where Martin Luther King Jr. wrote his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in 1963.

Visitors can also see the robe Muhammad Ali wore during training for the “Rumble in the Jungle,” his 1974 boxing match in Zaire (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) against George Foreman, and a gown worn by opera singer Marian Anderson. A suit of clothing that belonged to abolitionist Frederick Douglass is on display with a letter from President Abraham Lincoln enabling Douglass to move between Union lines during the Civil War to recruit black soldiers.

“In many ways,” said Fleming, “African Americans made American popular culture what it is today, especially in music and dance. Jazz is one of the only truly innovative cultural forms created in America, and it has spread across the world.” African rhythms led to blues, ragtime and jazz — and out of jazz came rock ’n’ roll.

A LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Smiley said he hopes families will bring their children to the exhibition so they can discover that “the place we call America simply would not exist were it not for the contributions of African Americans — over 400 years’ worth.”

The exhibition invites visitors, especially those of African-American heritage, to record 30-second comments about their experience. “I encourage everyone to come out and see this exhibit, not just black people — everyone,” says one young black woman. “You’ll learn a lot. … You’ll really be touched.”

America I AM: The African American Imprint will be at the National Geographic Museum through May 1. It next travels to St. Louis.

Also see “W.E.B. Du Bois: The Push for Political Agitation.” More information about the exhibition is available on the America I AM website.