american history. the opening session is on african-americans and religion. while we wait for the conference to begin, a look at a 2011 trip to a storage site in a washington, d.c. suburb with the director of the smithsonian national museum of african american history and culture. he showed us some of the artifacts that will be on display in the new museum, opening on the national mall, september 24, 2016. right now, we are in the storage units of the national museum of african american history and culture. in essence, this is the heart of the museum of. because what s behind me, and what we will see today are many of the objects that are going to be the soul of this museum. this is an opportunity to sort of preview some of the material that the public will see when the museum opens in stores. the story of the african-american experience is both a story of resiliency at achievement, but it s also a story of struggle. parts ofe hard exploring this history is that were athe p
rainy day in washington, d.c. i am honored to be the chair of this panel which attempts to answer the simple, yet in many ways, complex question, what is african-american religion. africans in america, the vast majority, were by law chattel, to be bought and sold, exploited unapologetically and often cast aside once every ounce of value had been extracted. but unlike the livestock that was listed alongside them on the state inventories and at auctions, this peculiar brand of property fought to assert and preserve their humanity, in their relations with each other, in the establishment and operation of their social institutions, and especially in their sacred beliefs. peoples of african descent adopted a belief system that adopted their ethnicities in the particular circumstances that shaped their lives and labor. time and experiences altered and redefined the beliefs and practices familiar to the ancestors. the descendents of these men and women adopted new ways of looking at
A ferris wheel, auctions and a free concert by Christian artists Zach Williams and Josh Baldwin are just a few of activities planned for Unity Fest at John 3:16 Ministries.