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Summer 2021 16 16 P A N P I P E S MUSEUMS N ashville "Music City USA" began the 2021 year celebrating the grand opening of the new National Museum of African American Music (NMAAM) on the corner of Representative John Lewis Way and historic Broadway in downtown Nashville, TN. e museum's mission is to educate the masses about the history of the African American Musical soundtrack and to preserve the stories behind the music shared in the museum's galleries. e museum chronicles the historic contributions of African Americans to the musical fabric of this nation. It is a long- time project collaboratively envisioned by local historians, activists, community and civic leaders, and corporate sponsors for nearly two decades. A virtual ribbon cutting ceremony took place on January 18th, the day of the Martin Luther King Holiday Observance. On January 23rd and 24th, a special opening for museum members took place, and my family and I proudly walked through the doors among the first-time visitors. e museum is the first and only of its kind dedicated to the contributions that African American's have made to music in this country and around the world. e interactive galleries are named for eras of American history where the original music of African Americans is linked to the past up through present-day figures. e experience begins with a 15-minute movie in the Roots theater and continues to thematic rooms like Wade in the Water, A Love Supreme, and One Nation Under A Groove. One of the unique features allows for visitors to interact with kiosks where a musician's image or a musical genre is activated by touch. e kiosks open digital pages of embedded links to reveal stimulating visuals, musical recordings, and historic content that further engages the visitor with the origins of multiple genres of music by African Americans. NMAAM will soon roll out the Rivers of Rhythm curriculum on the museum's website, which will provide digital resources for teachers that will include lessons that promote music literacy, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) through music, history, and culture. It will also include science, technology, engineering, A Peek Inside the New National Museum of African American Music The gallery inside the museum NMAAM/353 Media

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