A new African American History Museum is being built in Charleston, South Carolina, and is set to open an early 2022.

This week, a lecture from former Charleston South Carolina mayor, Joseph Riley, and Professor Kerry Taylor on the importance of this initiative.

They're joined by Smithsonian Institution Secretary,

Lonnie Bunch. You're illuminating sort of some of the dark corners of the American experience.

In many ways, the discussion around slavery, slave trade, and really the origin of America is

contested. Some people don't want to have these conversations, but yet I would

argue you can't understand who we are as American without understanding that early history. More in a

moment. Good afternoon. Welcome to the how and why, the making of the International African American Museum.

I'm Carrie Taylor, an associate professor of history at the Citadel, and Mayor Joseph Riley's co-teacher for this semester's exciting course.

Mayor Riley will introduce our special guest for this weekend, but first I wanted to

briefly explain today's format.

Mayor Riley and Secretary Lonnie Bunch will engage in a fireside chat-style conversation

after which we'll open it up for questions. We ask that you put your

questions in the chat function and I'll relay those to Secretary Bunch. So with that I'll turn it over to

my colleague Mayor Joseph Riley.

Well, thank you very much, Professor Taylor, Dr. Bunch.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's a huge honor for me to introduce to you a great American

Lottie Bunch, the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, and the founding director of the National African American Museum of History and Culture.

Professor Taylor just said the semester class is entitled, the why and how make of the International African American Museum.

And there's been no one more supportive

around efforts than my dear friend, Alani Bunch. In 2005, Secretary Bunch was the director

of the Chicago History Museum, one of the great history museums in our country. Its collection

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