English: The construction signs on the site for the National Museum of African American History and Culture, a museum of the Smithsonian Institution. President Barack Obama broke ground for this new museum on Wednesday, February 22, 2012, in Washington, D.C., USA.

Proposals for a museum began circulating in earnest in 1981. Legislation was introduced in Congress in 1987, but failed. For the next four years, the Smithsonian -- which has a long history of discriminating against blacks in hiring and promotion, and which largely ignored black and other minority history in its collections and exhibits -- finally agreed to back the museum.

But concerns over the museum's impact were extensive. Many local African American museums feared the Smithsonian would suck up all the donor dollars, and out-bid them for collections and staff. They wanted federal grants to help them survive, but Congress was unwilling to give them. Others felt the Smithsonian would give short shrift to the museum, and that their hard-won independence from white-dominated local government would be replaced by dominance by the Smithsonian.

Little action occurred throughout the 1990s. In 2001, new legislation was introduced in Congress. But a dispute broke out over the siting of the museum. The bill almost died again, but backers agreed to let an independent commission choose the site. The bill became law in 2003, and a site chosen in 2006.

In 2008, the Smithsonian announced a design competition for the new museum. Out of hundreds of proposals, six finalists were announced in 2009. In April 2009, the Smithsonian chose the design submitted by the Freelon Group, Adjaye Associates, and Davis Brody Bond team.

The museum is scheduled to open in 2015.