Someone Hung a Noose Inside the National Museum of African American History and Culture

The noose was found in an exhibit about segregation.

NMAAHC
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NMAAHC

NMAAHC

For the second time in less than a week, someone has placed a noose on the grounds of a Smithsonian museum. On Saturday, someone placed a noose on a tree outside of the Hirshhorn Museum. But on Wednesday afternoon, things got even uglier. Someone put a noose in the middle of an exhibit on segregation at the new National Museum of African American History and Culture

The museum's director, Lonnie Bunch, released a statement about the horrific incident.

The noose has long represented a deplorable act of cowardice and depravity—a symbol of extreme violence for African Americans. Today’s incident is a painful reminder of the challenges that African Americans continue to face.

 The Smithsonian's secretary, David Skorton, said in an Institution-wide email that everyone at the Smithsonian's museums and research centers condemns the racist attack.

"The Smithsonian family stands together in condemning this act of hatred and intolerance, especially repugnant in a museum that affirms and celebrates the American values of inclusion and diversity," he wrote. "We will not be intimated. Cowardly acts like these will not, for one moment, prevent us from the vital work we do."

After the noose at the NMAAHC was discovered, it was quickly removed. The exhibit was closed for around three hours in total.

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