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Museum Webcasts


Creating an Archetype: The Influence of the Mexican Revolution in the United States
September 23, 2010

This all-day symposium covers the impact of the Mexican revolution on American literature, art, politics, and the Mexican American experience. After the symposium, Guillermo Gómez Peña performs at 5:30 PM.

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The Pablo Aslán Quintet: “Tango Grill”
April 1, 2010

New York-based Argentine bassist Pablo Aslán, a pioneer in the tango revival, interprets the tango's classic repertoire with a contemporary jazz approach. On April 1, the Pablo Aslán Quintet reunited musicians from New York and Buenos Aires to play tango classics that expand our expectations for both genres. Celebrates Jazz Appreciation Month.

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All-American Music: Behind the Scenes with Porgy and Bess
February 25, 2010

The Washington National Opera (WNO) and the museum discussed the upcoming production of Porgy and Bess at the Kennedy Center, including its complex artistic and historical legacy. The program included a panel discussion, multimedia presentation, and vocal performances by cast members. Participants included Dwight Blocker Bowers, curator of American Entertainment History; Fath Davis Ruffins, curator of African American History and Culture; John Mauceri, conductor; Rita Tikador, WNO assistant artistic director; Morenike Fadayoni, WNO actress (Bess); Eric Owens, WNO actor (Porgy); and Jermaine Smith, WNO actor (Sporting Life).

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The Brass Letters of Citizenship: Lincoln, African Americans and Military Service
February 23, 2010

Join moderator Tom Bowman, Pentagon correspondent for National Public Radio, along with a panel of noted scholars for a discussion of the expansion of the military to include African Americans under President Abraham Lincoln. The distinguished panel included Dr. Ira Berlin of the University of Maryland and Dr. Chandra Manning of Georgetown University, both experts on the African American military experience in the mid-19th century.

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Lincoln, Race and the American Presidency
February 18, 2010

Fath Davis Ruffins, the museum's curator of African American History and Culture, moderated a panel discussion on race and presidential politics (in Lincoln’s time and our own).

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Youth Town Hall with the Greensboro Civil Rights Pioneers: Commemorating the 50th Anniversary of the Woolworth Lunch Counter Student Sit-In
February 4, 2010

The three surviving members of the Greensboro Four, Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.), Franklin McCain, and Joseph McNeil participated in an oral history. Their bold action ignited student involvement in the Civil Rights Movement when they staged a sit-in at the Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina on February 1, 1960.

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Transcript (PDF)

Running Against the Storm: 50th Anniversary of the Greensboro Lunch Counter Sit-In
February 3, 2010

A ceremony featuring the presentation of the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal to the Greensboro Four: Dr. Jibreel Khazan; Dr. Franklin E. McCain; Major General Joseph A. McNeil; and Mr. David L. Richmond (posthumously).

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Transcript (PDF)

Portrait of Invention: A Conversation with Lester Brown
June 18, 2009

The Smithsonian’s Lemelson Center presented a special program featuring renowned author and global environmentalist Lester Brown. This latest installment in the Center’s “Portrait of Invention” series offers participants the unique opportunity to engage Brown, founder and president of the Earth Policy Institute, in a conversation about the challenges of sustaining civilization.

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Uneasy Partners: Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, LBJ and Martin Luther King Jr.
March 26, 2009

Juan Williams of National Public Radio moderated a discussion of the relationships between Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Lyndon Baines Johnson and the most influential African American leaders of their day, Frederick Douglass and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Commemorating the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth, the National Museum of American History presented an engaging public dialog series to accompany its exhibition, "Abraham Lincoln: An Extraordinary Life."

John Stauffer of Harvard University and author of Giants: The Parallel Lives of Frederick Douglass and Abraham Lincoln, and Nick Kotz author of Judgment Days: Lyndon Baines Johnson, Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Laws That Changed America discussed the relationships between these two presidents and two legendary Civil Rights leaders. 

This program was made possible by a National Endowment for the Humanities grant through the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History and its traveling exhibition "Abraham Lincoln: A Man of His Time, A Man for All Times."

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Transcript (PDF)


Lincoln, the Smithsonian, and Science
April 23, 2009

A discussion of Abraham Lincoln's philosophy on government-supported scientific study, the President's relationship with Smithsonian Secretary Joseph Henry, and the role of presidential science advisors to this day. Discussion features: Marc Rothenberg, editor of The Joseph Henry Papers Project at the Smithsonian Archives; Thomas B. Allen and Roger MacBride Allen, authors of "Mr. Lincoln's High Tech War: How the North Used the Telegraph, Railroads, Surveillance Balloons, Iron-Clads, High-Powered Weapons, and More to Win the Civil War." President Obama’s science advisor John P. Holdren, the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy, offers thoughts on the challenge of Presidential science advising today. Moderated by Smithsonian Under Secretary for History, Art, and Culture, Richard Kurin.

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Transcript (PDF)


Grand Reopening Ceremony and Ribbon-Cutting
November 21, 2008

screenshot of reopening webcastThe Museum officially reopened to the public on the morning of Friday, Nov. 21, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony led by Museum Director Brent Glass, Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough, and other special guests. Entertainment included musical performances by the Children’s Chorus of Washington and Federal City Brass Band, the firing of an authentic War of 1812 cannon by the Defenders of Fort McHenry, a speech by the Secretary and other leaders, and a reading of the Gettysburg Address—a copy of which is on temporary loan from the White House—by General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret).

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Star-Spangled Banner Gallery Dedication Ceremony
November 19, 2008

screenshot of webcastThe National Museum of American History celebrated the dedication of the Star-Spangled Banner Gallery and the reopening of the Museum. The ceremony included remarks by President Bush; G. Wayne Clough, Secretary, Smithsonian Institution; Brent D. Glass, director, NMAH; David McCullough, historian and museum board member; Roger Farah, president and COO, Polo Ralph Lauren; and Jonathon Scharfen, acting director, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

View the archived version of this event (Windows Media format).

Smithsonian National Museum of American History