DuSable Curator Reflects On New National Museum For Black History And Culture

Leslie Guy DuSable Museum of African American History
Chief Curator Leslie Guy poses for a portrait outside the DuSable Museum of African American History Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016, in Chicago. The dedication of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture will be celebrated in Washington and on Chicago's south side at one of the oldest museums of its kind. On Chicago’s South Side, it will be viewed during a free watch party Saturday, Sept. 24, at the 55-year-old DuSable Museum of African American History - one of the oldest museums of its kind. Tae-Gyun Kim/AP
Leslie Guy DuSable Museum of African American History
Chief Curator Leslie Guy poses for a portrait outside the DuSable Museum of African American History Thursday, Sept. 22, 2016, in Chicago. The dedication of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture will be celebrated in Washington and on Chicago's south side at one of the oldest museums of its kind. On Chicago’s South Side, it will be viewed during a free watch party Saturday, Sept. 24, at the 55-year-old DuSable Museum of African American History - one of the oldest museums of its kind. Tae-Gyun Kim/AP

DuSable Curator Reflects On New National Museum For Black History And Culture

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The National Museum of African American History and Culture opened its doors to the public for the first time over the weekend. Among its more than 36,000 artifacts are everything from Harriet Tubman’s shawl to Emmett Till’s casket to Chuck Berry’s red Cadillac. 

The museum’s mission is to memorialize and educate people about the full scope of the black experience in America. Here in Chicago, the DuSable Museum of African American History has a related mission more focused on our city. 

Morning Shift talks to Leslie Guy, chief curator at the DuSable, about the collections at the new national museum and the DuSable as well as the impact the national museum could have on future generations of Americans.