Senator Schatz Introduces Legislation to Help Establish National Museum of the American People
The National Museum of the American People Would Tell the Diverse Stories of Every Ethnic Group in America
Honolulu, HI – U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i) introduced legislation to explore the viability of creating a National Museum of the American People (NMAP) in Washington, D.C. The proposed museum would be the first of its kind to tell the immigration stories of every American and celebrate the contributions of every ethnic and cultural group in the country. It would provide a venue to unite the diverse stories that connect us as Americans. The museum will offer a unique narrative regarding the people and communities that have helped forge who we are today; and, highlight the links that bind together past, present, and future generations.
“The story of America is a story about immigration. For generations, people from around the world and from all walks of life have come to the United States to build better lives for themselves and for their families,” said Senator Schatz. “From the sugar cane plantations on Maui to the shipping ports in Maine, immigrants throughout our history have made tremendous contributions to America. But many of their stories are left untold. Building the National Museum of the American People would help tell the story of every immigrant of every ethnic group and would be a great way to celebrate the patriotism, contributions, and achievements of all Americans.”
“The National Museum of the American People is destined to become one of the greatest history museums anywhere telling the central story of our nation about the making of the American People,” said Sam Eskenazi, director of the coalition backing this effort. “We are very grateful for Sen. Schatz taking the lead so that people from every ethnic, nationality and minority group in the country will be able to come and see their own stories and learn about all of the others. This museum can help bind us as a nation.”
More than 170 organizations representing more than 60 ethnic, nationality, and minority groups have formed the Coalition for the National Museum of the American People. They represent people from every significant ethnic groups in the nation. American ethnic groups with organizations supporting the museum include: African, Arab, Armenian, Baltic, Caribbean, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dominican, Dutch, English, Filipino, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hispanic, Hungarian, Indian, Irish, Italian, Japanese, Jewish, Korean, Mexican, Native Hawaiian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Salvadoran, Scottish, Slovak, Swedish, Taiwanese, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, and Welsh.
###
