linda's the chair of johnson publishing company, and dick is the chair of citigroup. please give a warm welcome to linda johnson ricem, the national museum of african-american history and culture, we want to extend our sincere appreciation for your sharing this incredible moment with us. we would especially like to thank all of our founding donors and it's an honor to celebrate this important museum with president and mrs. obama. a distinct, unique, great honor. fabulous honor. but while you're all dignitaries i would like to make mention of the fact that oliver holmes norton, congressman clyburn are here as well as many of the great supporters and other distinguished guests. all of you have helped achieve this significant mile stone. thank you for taking this journey with us. one of the things i like to do because nobody gets anything done by themselves or even with an able and beautiful partner, we have a council who has been with us on this journey and with lonnie, all supporting and advising. i'd like the members of the advisory council to stand and receive your applause and appreciation. and if i can be allowed

i especially want to acknowledge the council of the museum that is co-haired by linda johnson-rice andcause you believed when there wasn't much to believe in. so we are so grateful for your leadership. [ applause ] today, in the words of washington, d.c. poet lewis alexander, we call the lost dream back. today, we begin to make manifest on this mall, on this sacred space, the dreams of many generations who fought for and believe that there should be a site in the nation's capital that will help all americans remember and honor african-american history and culture. but equally important to this vision was the need to make better all who visit the national museum by using african-american culture as a lens to more clearly understand what it means to be an american. so with groundbreaking, we mark a major milestone in the creation of this museum. a museum that as the beloved historian john o. franklin used to always say to me, it must tell the untarnished truth because this will be a museum that will have moments to make one cry or to ponder the pain of slavery and segregation. but it wil

lewis, linda johnson rice, dick parsons. and from the smithsonian museum, dr. richard curan and dr.t is huge. >> it is huge. it is grand. yeah. >> you look exquisite yourself. really, just from "the cosby show," you don't look a day older. tell me why this is important to you. >> the smithsonian rounds out the telling of the american experience, rounds out the telling of the american story. with the smithsonian has 18 museums and this will be the 19th. and in this one, well, this one is dedicated to, what it says, african-american history and culture. and african-american history and culture is about descendents of africans but it's also about other people as well. our stories intermine gegle, yo know. it's going to be commemorative of the entirety of the story of descendents of africans in this country. >> i assume, too there will be some sort of chapter. because we have seen michael jackson, athletes, obviously the remnants of the time of slavery and jim crow. i imagine, too, there will be something about the cosby show because it was so transformative. is that correct? >> well, t