The National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) is a museum in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

. The museum showcases the musical genres inspired, created, or influenced by African-Americans. Its location at Fifth + Broadway in Downtown Nashville, as opposed to historically-Black Jefferson Street, has been controversial.

Collection

The museum was said to eventually comprise "five permanent themed galleries" as well as "a 200-seat theater and traveling exhibits". Its founding curator, Dr. Dina Bennett, was appointed in May 2018. The museum showcases more than fifty musical genres that were inspired, created, or influenced by African American culture, ranging from early American religious music to hip-hop and Rhythm and Blues. Its collection will include up to 1,400 artifacts, including clothes worn by

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

Dorothy Dandridge Dorothy Jean Dandridge (November 9, 1922 – September 8, 1965) was an American actress, singer and dancer. She is the first African-American film star to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, which was for her performance in '' C ...

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "Honorific nicknames in popular music, The Voice", she is Whitney Houston albums discography, one of the bestselling music artists ...

, and

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. The first traveling exhibit is expected to be about the Fisk Jubilee Singers.

History

The museum was proposed by members of th
Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce
in 2002 with the vision to preserve and celebrate African American music, art and culture. After a task force met and conducted research to determine if the project was feasible, the project shifted over the course of ten years to focus on music exclusively. NMAAM's mission is preserving African American music traditions and celebrating the central role African Americans have played in shaping American music. The museum received $500,000 from the Regions Foundation and $500,000 from the

Mike Curb Michael Curb (born December 24, 1944) is an American musician, record company executive, motorsports car owner, philanthropist, and former politician. He is also the founder of Curb Records where he presently serves as the chairman. Curb also ...

Foundation in February 2019. In 2015, the City of Nashville announced that NMAAM would be located at the old convention center site.

Location controversy

The museum was initially supposed to be built at the intersection of Rosa Parks Boulevard and Jefferson Street, the historic center of the city's African-American community. In 2015, the City of Nashville announced that NMAAM would be located at the old convention center site. The staff of the '' Tennessee Tribune'', Nashville's African-American newspaper, explained: The museum will be located at Fifth + Broadway in Downtown Nashville, where the Nashville Convention Center once stood. The new complex, which was expected to cost $450 million, was developed by OliverMcMillan and Spectrum , Emery, a company owned by businessman Pat Emery. The new location, close to

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

and the

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, was praised by Senator

Marsha Blackburn Mary Marsha Blackburn (née Wedgeworth; born June 6, 1952) is an American politician and businesswoman serving as the senior United States senator from Tennessee, a seat she has held since 2019. She is a member of the Republican Party. Blackbur ...

at a fundraising event in February 2019. Mayor

David Briley Clifton David Briley (born January 8, 1964) is an American politician. A Democrat, he was the eighth mayor of Metropolitan Nashville and Davidson County. He was elected in 2015 as vice-mayor and was sworn in as acting mayor after Megan Barry's ...

added, "For Nashville to get past its history of racism and to start to move to an era where African-Americans both know and can tell their own history in our city, we have to invest in this museum."

Grand Opening

The National Museum of African American Music broke ground in April 2017. The grand opening was January 18, 2021.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:National Museum of African American Music African-American museums in Tennessee Music museums in Tennessee Museums in Nashville, Tennessee 2019 establishments in Tennessee Museums established in 2019