The most important American museum that doesn't exist … yet.
 

Proposed Agenda for Presidential Commission

A bi-partisan Presidential Commission is being proposed to study the establishment of the National Museum of the American People.

THE COMMISSION — The Commission would consist of bipartisan members appointed by the President. The Commission would reflect the diversity represented by the Museum.

STUDY TOPICS — The Commission would study and report on:
  1. The story that the Museum would tell about all of the peoples who have come to this land and this nation.

  2. The site of the Museum on or near the National Mall in Washington, DC.

  3. The Museum’s mission and potential audiences.

  4. Projected staff, cost and fundraising plan to build and operate the Museum.

  5. The Museum’s impact on local and ethnic museums that tell a segment of the story.

  6. A program to select Peopling of America sites for national historic landmark status.

  7. The Museum’s governance, whether or not it is part of the Smithsonian Institution.

  8. The components that could comprise the Museum, including:
    • the permanent exhibition,
    • Center for Advanced Studies of the American People,
    • National Genealogical Center,
    • collections,
    • a national archives and library of migration and immigration,
    • education center,
    • public programs,
    • special exhibitions,
    • traveling and online exhibitions,
    • world food court, and
    • museum bookstore.

  9. The results of public meetings that the Commission would convene around the nation.

  10. The creation of a coalition to support the Museum.

  11. Draft legislation to establish the Museum and a plan of action to enact the legislation.
If the Presidential Commission is established in 2011, the Museum could open by 2018.

NOTE: There is a precedent for a Presidential Commission. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington had its genesis during the Carter Administration in 1978. That museum subsequently had strong support from Presidents Reagan, Bush, Clinton, Bush, Obama and bi-partisan Congresses.