Biden launches process establishing the national museum about AANHPI

WHITE HOUSE

President Biden signs a bill Monday  that starts the process of establishing a museum about Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders.

A new museum about Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders to help tell America's story took a major step towards reality Monday.

President Biden signed a bill, H.R. 3525, Monday that seeks to create the first national museum dedicated to preserving the history and culture of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians  and Pacific Islanders (AANHPIs).

"It’s about time for a national museum to capture the courage, the character, and the imagination," said Biden. "And maybe, from my perspective, looking from a little bit from a distance, is the dreams and the heart and the soul of the generations of our fellow Americans who came before you and all of you. 

"That’s what this law is going to do. That’s what it’s going to do. It going to create a commission that will examine how to make the museum a reality, including whether it should be part of the Smithsonian."

RELATED: Remarks of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris

Biden made a point of crediting Rep. Grace Meng, D-NY, for sponsoring the bill and pushing through Congress.

“I am ecstatic and overjoyed at this historic moment and honored and proud to have championed this crucial effort, especially after fighting for this legislation in Congress over the past seven years,” said Meng.

"Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders have shaped our nation since its founding," Meng continued. "From the struggles we’ve endured to the accomplishments we’ve made, it’s time for more Americans, and our future generations, to know our story. And a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture would provide the physical space for people to learn how we have helped make America the country that it is today. 

"It would help ensure that more Americans understand that Asian Pacific American history IS American history," said Meng. 

Meng’s bill will follow a similar path used to create the National Museum of African American History and Culture which opened in 2016, and the National Museum of the American Latino and National Women’s History Museum, both of which are in the process of being established.

 

Entitled the “Commission to Study the Potential Creation of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture Act,” the legislation will create a commission of eight individuals with various expertise in museum planning or AAPI history and culture to examine the feasibility of establishing, maintaining, funding and operating such a facility in the nation’s capital, possibly as part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. which is the world’s largest museum and research complex. 

 

Meng's measure will require the commission to:

 

• Report recommendations for a plan of action on the establishment and maintenance of a National Museum of Asian Pacific American History and Culture;

 

• Develop a fundraising plan to support the establishment, operation, and maintenance of the museum through public contributions;

 

• Obtain an independent review of this fundraising plan, including an analysis of the resources necessary to fund the construction of the museum and its operations and maintenance without reliance on federal funds;

 

• Report on the availability and cost of acquiring collections for the museum, identify potential locations for the facility in Washington, D.C., and determine its regional impact on other related museums; and

 

• Submit to Congress a legislative plan of action on whether to and how to establish and construct the museum.

 

The legislation will also direct the commission’s recommendations to address whether the museum should be part of the Smithsonian. The commission will have 18 months to complete the study and its members will be appointed by the House Speaker, Senate Majority Leader, House Minority Leader and Senate Minority Leader.

Although the Meng law doesn't formally establish a museum, the Commission study and report is the same process other museums have had to undergo before building a physical facility.

Before Vice President Kamala Harris introduced Biden, she said as the daughter of an immigrant from India, the occasion had a special meaning for her. 

"This is also American history, and we must teach it as it really happened so that we can learn from our best moments and learn from our darkest moments, and in particular, then, to ensure they are never repeated, our darkest moments," said Harris.

"By equipping people with knowledge and historical context, then we can fight ignorance, dispel misinformation, and work toward a future where all people can live without fear and a future where all people — all people can help write the next chapter of American history."

 

A copy of Meng’s legislation and additional details about the measure can be viewed here.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow @DioknoEd on Twitter.