THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY & CULTURE WANTS YOUR PHOTOS, VIDEOS, AND STORIES TO HELP DOCUMENT THE BLACK LIVES MATTER MOVEMENT AND COVID-19. A century-old idea, the National Museum of African American History & Culture (NMAAHC) has become a 350,000-square-foot vessel for the Black community to retell American history through a variety of storytelling methods and diverse perspectives. It was a concerted effort and came to fruition thanks to several important people, including the late U.S. Congressmen John Lewis and Mickey Leland.

The museum is temporarily closed due to COVID-19, but curators are requesting members of the African-American community help with a new initiative to assemble an online collection of personal stories about two major crises: the coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement. In June, the NMAAHC launched Voices of Resistance and Hope, a community platform for millions of people to upload their images, firsthand accounts, personal stories, essays, poems, photographs, short videos, and observations about how these transformative issues have impacted their lives.