Bush Backs Mall Site for African American Museum

President Bush yesterday spiritedly endorsed placing a national museum dedicated to black life and culture on the Mall.

“We have a chance to build a fantastic museum, right here in the heart of Washington, D.C., on the Mall,” Bush said at a White House event celebrating African American history.

Bush’s declaration was then interrupted by sustained applause. He paused and smiled, aware of the passionate and tangled discussions of where the museum should go and what signal a placement off the main street of American history would send.

A commission formed to establish an African American history museum on the Mall is considering four sites in Washington; only two are on the Mall. Many African American groups have said if the museum is not built on the Mall, they would consider it a slight.

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