VOA慢速英语：非裔美国人在国家广场博物馆开幕

What began years ago as legislation under then-President George W. Bush will soon be the newest addition to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.

VOA's Arash Arabasadi was invited the new museum before it officially opened to the public. June Simms has his report.

"What we want is a museum that uses the past to help you understand the world you're living in."

That is Lonnie Bunch III. He serves as curator of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture.

"This is your story, regardless of who you are. This is a story that tells you about your own family, your own family's struggle of freedom or citizenship..."

Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson, a former presidential candidate, describes the power of the new museum.

"It reshuffles the deck of American history. It's revolutionary."

The story starts with the slave trade that forcibly brought Africans on a long, difficult journey to North America. Jackson notes that African Americans have faced many struggles in the United States.

"We built the country, and we were enslaved for 246 years, which means that we were enslaved longer than we have been free."

A slave cabin on display in the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington.People visiting the new museum can see an early 1800s slave home. The Smithsonian's Nancy Bercaw describes the living conditions.