posted 09-24-2016 04:20 PM               

Astronaut artifacts included in new African American history museum

Artifacts representing some of the United States' first black astronauts are included within the inaugural collection of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened its doors to the public on Saturday (Sept. 24).

The new museum, which was erected on the National Mall between the Washington Monument and the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, chronicles the major periods of African American history, beginning with the origins in Africa and continuing through slavery, reconstruction, the civil rights era and into the 21st century.