The America I Am  – The African-American Imprint exhibition is currently on view at the California Science Center Exposition Park in Los Angeles, CA, from October 30, 2009 to April 10, 2010.

Celebrating nearly 500 years of African American contributions, the exhibition presents a historical continuum of pivotal moments in courage, conviction, and creativity that solidifies the undeniable imprint of African Americans across the nation and around the world. It provides context onhow African Americans have contributed to and shaped American culture across four core areas: economic, socio-political, cultural, and spiritual, up to present-day events, including the inauguration of the first African American president.

Through over 200 artifacts culled from every period of U.S. history and 12 exhibition galleries, America I AM will convey a journey from struggle to triumph to celebration. Among the poignant pieces in the exhibition are:

• The “Doors of No Return” from the Cape Coast Castle in Ghana, through which enslaved Africans passed to board ships to the New World
• The typewriter Alex Haley used to write the groundbreaking book, Roots
•A first edition of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin
• Objects representing the African American troops that fought in major U.S. wars
• Malcolm X’s diary and personal Koran
• The door key and stool from the Birmingham jail cell that held Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. when he authored his famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”
• Frederick Douglass’ clothing and a letter from President Lincoln designed to protect him from harassment as he moved about the nation’s capital campaigning for African American rights
• The robe  Muhammad Ali wore during the “Rumble in the Jungle,” when he defeated world heavyweight champion George Foreman
•And many other important items from the beginnings of our nation through contemporary popular culture

California Science Center Exposition Park
395 39th Street & Figueroa Street
Los Angeles, CA 90037
(323) SCIENCE
(323) 724-3623
www.californiasciencecenter.org

Filed under: Web Resources

Tags: African-American history, Exhibit, Museums