Meena Ryzik National Museum Essay

Quoted by Handler and Gable, critic Ada Louise Huxtable declares the newly constructed reproduction of Colonial Williamsburg as “too clean,” arguing that it “does not include the filth and stench that would have been commonplace.” (Source E) This sanitation of the truth completely misrepresents history, and the educational value greatly suffers. Conversely, the National Museum of the American Indian hopes to avoid this lack of judgment by dedicating itself to the “preservation, study, and exhibition of the life, languages, literature, history, and Arts of Native Americans.” (Source C) The main goal of the museum is to “span all major cultural areas” (C) and educate the public about and preserve the rich history of such a vast culture. The authenticity and significance of artifacts are important to representing culture and history, and the ability of these artifacts to educate should be a key factor of the selection process.

In the article “EMP: Music History or Music Trivia?”, Jackie Wyngaard gives her point of view of the Experience Music Project (EMP), an artistic installation in Seattle (WA), that holds information and memorabilia about the various music movements through the American history. Based on what she believes that a music museum should be, she claims that the space is a failure. That is the first important element of an essay: an idea or point of view over something that the author judges important. The purpose of an essay is to inform, clearly, what that idea is, bringing arguments that will support that claim. And the author does that by bringing evidences of what a museum should be for her.

The race most focused in during the course was the African American race. Throughout the course we focused on segregation, educational inequalities, voting rights, housing rights, and affirmation action for African Americans. All of these topics show the discrimination of the African American race. We focused on the challenges confronting the US from 1400s to the 21st Century. Some of these challenges included race inequalities: structural, institutional, and individual. We talked about the interaction between race, gender, and class during the period of African American constitutional history. One topic was The Civil Rights Movement and Martin Luther King Jr., and how they have helped the progression the African American race. It was the 50th anniversary year of the March of Washington. At

The museum is a very interesting place where amazing exhibits are around you.While entering the museum and exploring the different art one drawing seemed to catch my eye the most. The title of the drawing was called “Dying Solider”. In this piece of art their were three working people in the drawing. It was a man portraying a janitor, an older lady scrubbing hardwood floors, and a woman taking care of an infant. Those three descriptions of the images makes me realize how hard an African American house hold had to work.

Monday, October 16, 1995, is the day that stood for unity, love, and brotherhood. The day one million Black men gathered in Washington, DC declaring for their right to justice. The day Black men made history. The Million Man March, the inspiring event of Black men from all ages, religions, and background, led by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan motivated Kelly Lyons to write One Million Men and Me. The book described the march from the perspective of a little girl who joined her father while standing at the Washington Mall along with over one million Black men. Speeches from numerous people rang through the crowd’s ears, as well as those who watched on television as they made know the value and importance of black men’s lives. One Million Men and Me delivers a message to children and

This week we talked about the civil rights movement and touched on some of the key elements involved in the movement. Whether that be the change in the education system, the murder of Emmett Till, and the Montgomery Bus Boycott. The first in the Brown V. Board of Education forced the school to desegregate and was something that society had to get used to back then. Second was the heinous murder of Emmett Till that showed how the court system was flawed and this case was a main catalyst in the civil rights movement. The Montgomery Bus Boycott was what we saw in the documentary how long it lasted and how persistent were they saw a problem that needed to be fixed. This is what needs to happen with all movements is that lynchpin that makes the

The Civil War museum located in New Orleans is a very interesting museum to visit. On the outside the museum stands out from the surrounding building as it has an older brick style building which almost looks like a church in some aspects.. On the right side of the stairs that lead up inside is a large cannon on display. Upon entering the museum it is made apparent that the building is in good condition, but is also very old. Every step that I took while in the museum sounded as if the floor was about to cave in underneath my feet. I was greeted upon entry to the museum and I paid my entry fee and was given a sheet of paper with some general information on the museum. Once leaving the desk I walked along the wall to my left which was covered in glass cases that contained a multitude of civil war artifacts.

The The National Museum of African American History and Culture opened on september 19, 2016. The museum has five floors. The first floor theme is slavery which included many exhibits such as a slave cabin, Emmett Till's casket, and a railcar from the segregation era are just a few of them. The second floor focuses on reconstruction and the third floor features segregation and beyond. The third floor shows exhibits such as women and movement which talks about how women helped in the civil rights movement and also displays exhibits on entertainment which included one on Oprah which had Oprah Winfrey’s couch. Therefore the African American history museum was a good way to learn about African American history.

I firmly believe that the point of visiting a museum is to educate one on how things once were in the past through its display of artifacts, exhibits, art, cultural objects, etc. Its purpose is to let you imagine what it was like during a time you were not apart of or, in some cases, allow you to look back at a time you were apart of when you were very young. The African-American Museum of Long Island did a great job at presenting some of the many African-American contributions to society. In addition to presenting contributions from the African-American community, the museum was able to show us some of the struggle they were required to overcome as well.

Once again, I found the museum to be trying to shock me while simultaneously awe me, in order to make it clear to me that intolerance exists in the world and in myself as well. It occurred to me that one possible reason this seems so ineffective to me is that I am lucky enough to be well-educated on the ways of the world and the horrors of humanity. For me, I do not need to see the bullet-ridden corpses of women lying dead in pools of their own blood on the streets of Kosovo to know that their death was the result of one people hating another people; I already knew this and understand it. But many people may not, and so the museum is essentially forced to cater to those who do not know, and disregard those who do.

When you walked into the Holocaust museum there was a sort of eerie quiet that had befallen on the building and it’s visitors. It was not heavily ornamented and it made you feel uncomfortable to even be in the building. When the elevator doors opened and allowed us out to the fourth floor, you feel cramped and awkward with how little space you had. This was exactly the intentions of the designers of the building. They wanted to mimic how all those people, who were herded like cattle, felt when they were forced onto the wagons which would lead most of them to their murder. This museum was significant to me because it brought out all the horrible things that happened during that time. I believe that people should know more about the heinous events

On the outside it is not very appealing. The words ‘National Museum of African Art is located right above the glass door. To the left and right there is a banner. One representing The Divine Comedy: Heaven, Purgatory, and Hell Revisited by Contemporary African Artists collection the other Conversations. Before entering the museum I checked my phone and noted that it was 11:00 a. m. Opening the door, I was hit an old dusty smell. In the background a mixture of African and African American hip hop music was playing. Before I could walk completely inside, I first came across a funerary sculpture. This sculpture hosted a man on top of an elaborate pedestal. This man had a stick in each hand. His right hand was extended, but bent at the elbow. Holding the stick in a tight fist. His left hand was relaxed at his side. In reading the description, I discovered that this sculpture was a grave post that captured the strength, determination, and movement of a powerful warrior. When rewriting my notes I wondered why the museum would put a grave post in front of the entrance. This is the first piece of artwork that visitors would see and the head of the museum chose a grave post. However, I realized that that is an ingenious idea. In Global Shadows, James Fergusons examines the perception of Africa through the lens of the world. “‘Africa’ continues to be describe through a series of lacks and absences, failings and

When researching the monuments and historical relics in the surrounding DC area, I figured I would end up writing a reflection on the Martin Luther King memorial in the national mall… But after more thought, I opted out of that. After further review, and walking further down the National Mall, I was intrigued by the Museum of African American History and Culture.

I attended the African Burial Ground and this was a very pleasant experience. I naturally enjoy museums because they provide a sense of peacefulness, but when I arrived at the burial ground I felt unease. It was my first time on sacred land, it was also my first time at a black museum so I was thrilled. At first, I didn’t really feel anything while reading the notes on the outside of the building but once I got inside everything changed. On the inside, there were lots of visuals and information on display. Learning about the struggles your people overcame at the burial ground is a different feeling compared to being at home or in a classroom reading textbooks about the same struggles. There was a section in the museum where a timeline was

Leila Aboulela writes “The Museum” in a way that can make the reader feel like they are connected and present with the characters. Held in a prestigious university in Scotland, the University of Aberdeen, “The Museum” highlights many difficult challenges that can be faced in a lifetime, and that makes the story even more relatable. Leila Aboulela really knows how to capture her readers, which makes her story so memorable. Aboulela uses explicit adjectives to describe common things that advance the story even more. For example the reoccuring color blue on page 372 that evokes the sad feeling that Shadia develops throughout the story.