The museum also marked its 50th anniversary by offering free visits all day. Visitors had the chance to get up close to roughly 80 original costumes from films such as “Black Panther” and “Sinners,” as part of the “Ruth E. Carter: Afrofuturism in Costume Design” exhibition.
Museum guests also toured the institution’s newest exhibit, “Who Is Ona Judge?” The video installation tells the story of the enslaved woman who escaped from President George Washington’s household.
“I am hoping that from our exhibitions … guests will walk away wanting to champion their own stories for freedom, as well as a sense of inspiration that they can do it too,” said Ashley Jordan, the museum’s president and CEO.
Ashley Jordan is the President & CEO at the African American Museum in Philadelphia, which hosts a Juneteenth block party outside the museum at 7th and Arch streets.
The museum is the first of its kind funded by a major city. The institution’s anniversary is a significant milestone, Jordan said, because in 1976, there were only a handful of African American museums or cultural sites dedicated to the study.
“Fifty years later, there’s over 300 sites dedicated to history and culture for African Americans, and we’re just happy to be considered a forerunner in that story,” she said. “With that legacy, we know that that is an invaluable reputation to have, but we’re looking forward to seeing more institutions like us come forward in other major cities that may go unlooked or overlooked, and we’re just happy to have this opportunity to be an institutional leader.”