In Nashville, residents celebrated Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day by honoring the music that reflected the Civil Rights Movement and much more. The holiday was marked by the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the National Museum of African-American Music. Members of the museum gathered in the city's downtown area near Broadway and Fifth Avenue as they celebrated the opening.
"What an important moment this is, not only for Music City, as this is a part of a completion of making this Music City," Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said.
"People from across the country and certainly across the world will come here to recognize the role, the important role that African American music has played in the history of our nation and certainly in the history of Tennessee."
The museum is a project that has evolved over time and spanned the tenure of Nashville mayors Bill Purcell, Karl Dean, Megan Barry, David Briley and John Cooper. After decades of hard work, Nashville natives believe this museum will attract tourists from all over the world
“We have been preparing for this day for more than 20 years, but this museum has actually been more than 400 years in the making," National Museum of African-American Music President H. Beecher Hicks III said.
The museum will feature exhibits centered around different genres of music including jazz, gospel and rock. It will also feature more than 1,500 artifacts chronicling Black music history. Not to mention, the National Museum of African-American Music has partnered with Sony to offer scholarships for students interested in music. Amazon has also donated $1 million to the museum.
The venue will open to members on January 23-24. During the following weekend, the museum will be opened to the public in a limited capacity.
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