Title 20EducationRelease 119-73not60

§80r Findings

Title 20 › Chapter 3— SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, NATIONAL MUSEUMS AND ART GALLERIES › Subchapter XIV— NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE › § 80r

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

Congress finds the United States has become a world symbol of democracy and freedom and that African Americans’ legacy is part of that foundation. It finds the Smithsonian has no national museum focused on African American life, art, history, and culture that covers periods such as slavery, Reconstruction, the Harlem Renaissance, and the civil rights movement. A National Museum would collect, preserve, study, and display these materials.

Full Legal Text

Title 20, §80r

Education — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Congress finds that—
(1)since its founding, the United States has grown into a symbol of democracy and freedom around the world, and the legacy of African Americans is rooted in the very fabric of the democracy and freedom of the United States;
(2)there exists no national museum within the Smithsonian Institution that—
(A)is devoted to the documentation of African American life, art, history, and culture; and
(B)encompasses, on a national level—
(i)the period of slavery;
(ii)the era of Reconstruction;
(iii)the Harlem renaissance;
(iv)the civil rights movement; and
(v)other periods associated with African American life, art, history, and culture; and
(3)a National Museum of African American History and Culture would be dedicated to the collection, preservation, research, and exhibition of African American historical and cultural material reflecting the breadth and depth of the experiences of individuals of African descent living in the United States.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title

Pub. L. 108–184, § 1, Dec. 16, 2003, 117 Stat. 2676, provided that: “This Act [enacting this subchapter] may be cited as the ‘National Museum of African American History and Culture Act’.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

20 U.S.C. § 80r

Title 20Education

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60