STUDENTS SHARE EXPERIENCES WITH VISITING THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY

Lauren Moy, who recently graduated from Whitney M. Young Magnet High school, along with five other local Moy said to the Citizen. Chicago students were selected through ComEd Exelon’s Stay In School program to attend and tour the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C., on June 22, 2017. Photo Courtesy of KIVVIT
Lauren Moy, who recently graduated from Whitney M. Young Magnet High school, along with five other local Moy said to the Citizen. Chicago students were selected through ComEd Exelon’s Stay In School program to attend and tour the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C., on June 22, 2017. Photo Courtesy of KIVVIT

STUDENTS SHARE EXPERIENCES WITH VISITING THE

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY

By Christopher Shuttlesworth

ComEd Exelon’s Stay in School program, which offers educational programs to more than 2,000 students and parents, recently selected six exceptional students from six Chicago community agencies to tour the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington D.C. The museum is the only national museum devoted exclusively to the

documentation of African American life, history, and culture.

Lauren Moy, who recently graduated from Whitney M. Young Magnet High school, along with five other local students submitted essays to ComEd on why they desired to visit the museum, which was established by Act of Congress in 2003.

Moy, who also plans to attend the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, this Fall, said the opportunity to attend the museum as an Asian-American gave her a deeper understanding and perspective of her fellow African American peers and their struggles that they have faced.

“I remember them saying that no matter what race or who you are, you are always going to get something out of it,” Moy said. “I think I

got a lot out of it.”

Moy said she liked the way the tour guides presented controversial issues about African Americans during the 1960’s. She stated the tour

guides did a really good job of explaining the good and bad events that took place during the 1960’s, adding it gave her a better understanding

of the issues Africans Americans faced during the Civil Rights Movement.

She continued to say that the trip also offered a variety of insights into African American history and culture.

It’s really vital for people of different ethnic backgrounds to learn more about other cultures because it can help individuals gain a better view of America in general, Moy added.

“I think for me as an Asian-American, it broadened so much of my horizon and gave me an understanding of other people’s struggles

because our struggles and our differences are what make us unique and even more connected to America,” she said.

The National Museum of African American History and Culture has collected more than 36,000 artifacts and nearly 100,000 individuals

have become charter members, according to https://nmaahc.si.edu/.

To learn more about the museum, visit https://nmaahc.si.edu/.

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