thank you so much for encouraging and supporting this and many other smithsonian initiatives. we are here today of course thanks to the leadership of m y many. president and mrs. bush were essential. members of the house and the senate and a host of local officials made it happen. this was a true bipartisan effort, echoing this museum's message of unity. what a magnificent location imbued with powerful symbolism. it's a fitting home for this museum, invoking the indelible threads that connect the african-american stories to the american tapestry. even as we break ground in the national mall, i want to ensure the entire country who are watching on webcast that we reach far beyond the nation's capital. if you can't come to us, we come to you.

via new technology and through our 170 affiliate museums located around the country and our traveling exhibition. so to the teachers and students who are watching, imagine your schools in a few years and what you might receive in terms of information from this museum. maybe a hologram of martin luther king might walk off the steps of the lincoln memorial and walks right into your classroom. the leaders of tomorrow have the world in the palms of their hands today. that's where you find the smithsonian, telling these important and compelling stories. so to this day, we add to america's chorus of voices, voices that inspire us to illuminate the past and ensure a better future for all. thank you very much. thank you.

so please welcome a valued friend of the smithsonian and one of the museum's dedicated council members, mrs. laura bush. [ applause ] >> thank you very much. thank you all. thank you, everybody. thank you very much. thanks so much. thank you. thank you very much, wayne, for that introduction and good morning to everyone. good morning, president and mrs. obama. director lonnie bunch. and all our distinguished guests and all americans who have joined us for this very important occasion. it's especially fitting that we're dedicating this plot of land on our national mall for a museum that remembers, reveres and celebrates the great struggles and even greater contributions that african-americans have made to our nation's history.

just down the road from here, both the white house and the capitol were built in part by the labor of african-american slaves. we don't know most of their names, but they left a lasting legacy in the bricks and stone and beautiful craftsmanship that now house our democracy's most vital institutions. here too in this city is where a young congressman named abraham lincoln was horrified by the sight of slave pens standing near the grounds of the capitol. and where later president lincoln would sign the transforming emancipation proclamation. here in this city is where the great abolitionist frederick douglas came to offer counsel to lincoln, and it was welcomed by the president into the white house. here on this very mall is where the reverend martin luther

king, jr., stood and shared his dream of the nation where we're all measured by the content of our character and where we join together at one table the table of brotherhood. and here in this city is also where president lyndon johnson fought for and signed the landmark civil rights act of 1964. today african-americans help lead our nation in all facets of life, from government to the military, to the law. from business to the arts to medicine and education. this museum will share these stories and will pay tribute to the many lives known and unknown that have so immeasurably enriched our nation. the national museum of african-american history and culture began as a bipartisan

effort through legislation, sponsored by representatives john lewis and jc watts and senators sam brownback and max cleland. my husband, president bush, was proud to sign it into the law in 2003. and to envision the museum to be pit built on the mall where we honor soldiers and inventors and statesman. i'm particularly proud that the -- of the museum's vision. which is dedicated not simply to this building, but also to reaching out to communities around the nation. the museum has already begun traveling expeditions and artifact preservation programs. it's a museum dedicated to welcoming all americans, whether or not they'll be able to travel to washington, d.c. i'm glad too that this building will stand next to the monument

to our first president, george washington. a man who fought for liberty and who came to recognize the evils of bondage. freeing his slaves in his will. side by side, and these two spots are symbolic of our own national journey. for the stories that will be preserved within these walls, the stories of suffering and perseverance, of daring, of imagination, and of triumph are the stories of african-americans. but they're also stories that are forever woven through the heart of the fabric of our nation. thank you all and god bless you all.

>> now it's my honor to introduce a friend, a scholar and an accomplished astrophysicist and now president of the purdue university, and most importantly, new chair of the smithsonian board of regents and my boss, france crudo. >> mr. president, mrs. obama, fellow regents and honored guest, good morning. on behalf of the board of reg t regents i'd like to welcome all of you here to this incredible ceremony. i'd like to congratulate the council of the museum history and culture and the founding director, lonnie bunch on achieving this historic milestone.

that we are breaking ground for the construction of the museum's permanent home is a testament to their shared vision and hard work. in 2003, the regents were honored when the congress passed and president bush signed legislation establishing the national museum of african-american history and culture within the smithsonian. since that time, the regents have made opening the museum our number one priority. the legislation also tasked the rege ents with one duty particularly relevant today. we were asked to select the site for the new museum. over the course of two years, we listened to a passionate discourse on the museum, through public town halls and on the internet. we consulted closely with the

museum's council and other stakeholders. we considered a number of attractive alternatives. but in the end, our decision was easy. we recognized that the story of african-american culture and history is central to the story of america. it is a story that we believe can best be told from america's front yard, the national mall. here at the foot of the washington monument. next to the museum of american history in view of the capitol and within blocks of the white house. sometimes location is indeed everything. and this site underscores the smithsonian's and the nation's commitment to telling the whole american story. as a scientist and educator, i

was taken with some recent photographs of president obama hosting students at a science fair in the white house. by opening the white house doors to outstanding young student scientists, the president sent an important and inspiring message to young americans. that science and learning are critical to the future of this nation and a top priority for us all. since 1846, the smithsonian has been opening its doors to student scientists, historians, artists, or those just seeking to learn more about themselves, the nation and the world. we're grateful to the president and mrs. obama for their inspiring support of education, the smithsonian and this wonderful and important new museum.

it is now my great honor and privilege to welcome the president of the united states. thank you, mr. president. >> thank you. thank you so much. thank you so much. please have a seat. thank you very much. well, good morning, everybody. >> good morning. >> i want to thank france for that introduction and for her leadership at the smithsonian. i want to thank everybody who helped to make this day happen. i want to thank laura bush, secretary salazar, sam

brownback, my hero congressman john lewis. wayne clough, and everybody who's worked so hard to make this possible. i'm so proud of lonnie bunch who came here from chicago, i want to point out. i remember having a conversation with him about this job when he was planning to embark on this extraordinary journey, and we could not be prouder of the work that he has done to help make this day possible. i promise to do my part by being brief. as others have mentioned, this day has been a long time coming. the idea for a museum dedicated to african-americans was first put forward by black veterans of the civil war. and years later the call was picked up by members of the civil rights generation. by men and women who knew how to fight for what was right, and strive for what is just.

this is their day. this is your day. it's an honor to be here to see the fruit of your labor. it's also fitting that this museum has found a home on the national mall. as has been mentioned it was on this ground long ago that lives were once traded, where hundreds of thousands once marched for jobs and for freedom. it was here that the pillars of our democracy were built often by black hands. and it is on this spot alongside the monuments to those who gave birth to this nation and those who worked so hard to perfect it that generations will remember the sometimes difficult often inspirational, but always central role that african-americans have played in the life of our country. this museum will celebrate that history.

because just as the memories of our earliest days have been confined to dusty letters and faded pictures, the time will come when few people remember drinking from a colored water fountain. or boarding a segregated bus. or hearing in person dr. king's voice boomed down from the lincoln memorial. that's why what we built here won't just be an achievement for our time, but will be a monument for all time. it will do more than simply keep those memories alive. just like the air and space museum challenges to set our sights higher or the natural history museum encourages us to look closer or the holocaust museum calls us to fight persecution wherever we find it, this museum should inspire us as well.

it should stand as proof that the most important things in life rarely come quickly or easily. it should remind us that although we have yet to reach the mountaintop, we cannot stop climbing. that's why in moments like this i think about malia and sasha. i think about my daughters and i think about your children. the millions of visitors who will stand where we stand long after we're gone. i think about what i want them to experience. i think about what i want them to take away. when our children look at harry tubman shawl or the plane flown by the tuskegee airmen, i don't want them to be seen as figures larger than life, but i want them to see how ordinary americans could do extraordinary things.

how men and women just like them had the courage and determination to right a wrong, to make it right. i want my daughters to see the shackles that bound slaves on their voyage across the ocean and the shards of glass that flew from the 16th street baptist church and understand that injustice and evil exists in the world. but i also want them to hear louis armstrong's horn and read the poems of phyllis whitley. i want them to appreciate this museum not just as a record of tragedy, but as a celebration of life. when future generations hear the songs of pain and progress and struggle and sacrifice, i hope they will not think of them as somehow separate from the larger american story. i want them to see it as central

and an important part of our shared story. a call to see ourselves in one another. a call to remember that each of us is made in god's image. that's the history we will preserve within these walls. the history of a people who in the words of dr. king injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization. may we remember their stories. may we live up to their example. thank you, god bless you and god bless the united states of america.

>> at this time i'd like to invite the ground breakers to gather at the foot of the steps of the stage here. okay. once you're ready with your

instruments i would like to invite everyone to join me in the countdown. five, four, three, two, one. break ground. [ applause ]

>> for the finale of the program today, our combined choirs accompanied by the u.s. navy band. we also have our guest soloist denise graves and thomas henson. may we all stand, please.

let's welcome to the stand ms. denise graves and thomas hansha hans hansen. [ applause ] ♪

♪ lift up your voice and sing until heaven ring ♪ ♪ ring with liberty ♪ high as the listening skies let every sound loud as the roaring sea ♪ ♪ raise your voice and sing ♪ raising the rising sun ♪ let the day begin ♪

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♪ [ applause ] [ applause ] >> ladies and gentlemen, please

be seated while the president and the first lady depart. [ applause ] [ applause ] >> before i say good-bye, would you please join me in honoring the wonderful work done today by

phy phylecia rashad. >> well, there was supposed to be a voice of god, but you'll have to settle for me. please enjoy yourself. we're having a reception, and, again, let me thank you very much. this means a great deal to the smithsonian that you came, that you care and that you're part of this. so thank you all very much. [ applause ] ♪

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