Smithsonian’s National Museum Of African American History Installs First Artifacts During Construction
Two large artifacts were installed inside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture as part of its ongoing construction at the National Mall.
Museum officials on Sunday were overseeing the installation of a segregated Southern Railway train car made by the Pullman Company in 1922. The passenger car was modified to have segregated seating to comply with Jim Crow laws at the time.
The other large piece being installed is a prison tower from Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary. Curators had been looking for items to illustrate the incarceration of black people in the 20th century and the practice’s links to slavery.
Both pieces were lowered into the museum construction site by cranes, since they’re too large to install after the museum building completes its construction in 2015.
