Toyota Honors African American History Through Ongoing Smithsonian Support
The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) focuses on telling the American story through the lens of African American history and culture. As the only national museum devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life history and culture, it was the 19th museum of the Smithsonian Institution when it opened on September 24, 2016.
When the National Museum of African American History and Culture opened in 2016, Toyota provided support as a Founding Donor and Grand Opening Sponsor. The company wanted to preserve this key part of America’s history and support the community.
Celebrating the 2016 Grand Opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture is a group of Toyota leaders, including (from left to right) Dawn McGowan, Robert Hatchett, Ellenae Fairhurst, Alva Adams Mason, Chris Reynolds, Michaelene James, Wil James and Dr. Barbara Williams-Skinner.
To date the Museum has collected more than 40,000 artifacts and nearly 100,000 individuals have become members. In 2023, the Museum welcomed its 10 millionth in-person visitor almost one week after the seventh anniversary of the grand opening. Through Toyota’s ongoing relationship with the Museum, the company has been given the opportunity to support many key exhibits and activities, including:
- Underwriting a special, Century in the Making: Building the National Museum of African American History and Culture exhibit, which records the major milestones over the last 100 years that led to the museum’s creation, beginning with the 1916 letter from the National Memorial Association to then-President Woodrow Wilson.
- The first anniversary Community Day celebration of the museum opening
- The 2019 African American Film Festival at the NMAAHC
- The 2020 book tour for “A Fool’s Errand: Creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the Age of Bush, Obama, and Trump” by Lonnie Bunch III, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
- The 2023 Smithsonian initiative, Our Shared Future: Reckoning with Our Racist Past
- The upcoming Women’s E3 Virtual Summit in 2024 (dates to be announced by the NMAAHC)
Toyota has underwritten a special ‘Century in the Making: Building the National Museum of African American History and Culture’ exhibition, which records the major milestones over the last 100 years that led to the museum’s creation, beginning with a 1916 letter from the National Memorial Association to then-President Woodrow Wilson.
In addition to historic preservation, Toyota and the museum share a commitment to reduce energy usage and conserve water. The NMAAHC has numerous environmental features including a green roof, water reuse system and use of natural daylight using the building’s exterior corona.
The building achieved LEED gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, the highest level of any museum on the mall.