WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.920 --> 00:00:04.000 This is Latino USA, the Radio Journal of News and 2 00:00:04.160 --> 00:00:07.480 Kurtur Latino US Latin Latino USA. 3 00:00:07.760 --> 00:00:08.880 I'm Maria Inojosa. 4 00:00:09.240 --> 00:00:12.560 We bring you stories that are underreported but that mattered 5 00:00:12.600 --> 00:00:14.720 to you, overlooked by the rest of the media, and 6 00:00:14.760 --> 00:00:16.920 while the country is struggling to deal with these, we 7 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:19.960 listen to the stories of Black and Latino Studios United 8 00:00:20.079 --> 00:00:24.920 Latino Front, a cultural renaissance organizing at the forefront of 9 00:00:24.960 --> 00:00:32.440 the movement. I'm Maria Ino Jossa. No dear Latino USA listener, 10 00:00:32.640 --> 00:00:37.920 I hope you're well. Here's a show from the archives. 11 00:00:38.720 --> 00:00:40.640 I think someone we know isn't here. 12 00:00:40.680 --> 00:00:42.920 Oh yeah, and we know this person, I think pretty well. 13 00:00:43.560 --> 00:00:47.600 It's a Wednesday morning in June. The Smithsonian's National Museum 14 00:00:47.640 --> 00:00:51.440 of American History in Washington, d C. Is mostly empty 15 00:00:51.520 --> 00:00:54.440 right now. Its stores won't open to the public for 16 00:00:54.480 --> 00:00:58.040 another hour and a half. But my colleague Alejandra Salasada 17 00:00:58.080 --> 00:01:01.640 and I cut early access today, so we're here, and 18 00:01:02.040 --> 00:01:05.959 so is our boss. Well kind of yeah, that's Maria. 19 00:01:06.000 --> 00:01:09.520 That's like fun. She's standing there with hoop earrings and 20 00:01:09.560 --> 00:01:10.400 her red lipstick. 21 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:15.480 Okay, so she isn't actually here here, but she's on 22 00:01:15.520 --> 00:01:17.720 a screen in front of us, dressed in a black 23 00:01:17.800 --> 00:01:21.800 jump student heels, welcoming us to a groundbreaking new exhibition 24 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:25.520 called Presente a Latino History of the United States. 25 00:01:25.800 --> 00:01:26.319 And now I'm. 26 00:01:26.240 --> 00:01:29.080 Standing here with Ray, my colleague. You just heard from 27 00:01:29.280 --> 00:01:32.560 Renaldo Lanos Junior, and we're face to face with a 28 00:01:32.600 --> 00:01:34.800 life size video of Maria no Josa. 29 00:01:35.760 --> 00:01:39.520 Hi, Maria, Hey, Maria, Maria. It's one of about a 30 00:01:39.560 --> 00:01:43.240 dozen Latinos and Latinas featured in this exhibition for their 31 00:01:43.319 --> 00:01:45.160 work in the Latino community. 32 00:01:45.319 --> 00:01:46.600 I'm the executive. 33 00:01:48.960 --> 00:01:50.920 She pops up on screens in the center of the 34 00:01:50.960 --> 00:01:55.480 gallery space, along with others a nurse, an immigration activist, 35 00:01:55.720 --> 00:01:57.080 other journalists like her. 36 00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:01.000 It's kind of funny. We usually don't have Maria watching 37 00:02:01.080 --> 00:02:04.320 us while we're out working as producers for Latino USA. 38 00:02:05.080 --> 00:02:08.960 Brecente's house in the Molina Latino Family Gallery. It's in 39 00:02:08.960 --> 00:02:12.360 the Museum of American History, and it's the Smithsonian's first 40 00:02:12.360 --> 00:02:16.960 permanent space dedicated to the Latino experience in the United States. 41 00:02:17.280 --> 00:02:20.760 That alone is something remarkable. But we're here to cover 42 00:02:20.840 --> 00:02:24.440 the opening of this show mainly because it's a precursor 43 00:02:24.760 --> 00:02:26.080 of something big to come. 44 00:02:26.680 --> 00:02:28.800 Thank you all for being here today and helping us 45 00:02:28.800 --> 00:02:31.880 celebrate this moment to stay Today, we celebrate this new gallery, 46 00:02:31.919 --> 00:02:35.519 and soon we will celebrate an entire museum dedicates to 47 00:02:35.560 --> 00:02:38.400 the rich and vibrant history of the American Latino. 48 00:02:39.040 --> 00:02:43.400 That's Corges Amanillo. He's the inaugural director of the upcoming museum. 49 00:02:43.440 --> 00:02:47.959 He's talking about the Smithsonians National Museum of the American Latino, 50 00:02:48.639 --> 00:02:52.760 and Precente is a major step towards that museum. 51 00:02:52.840 --> 00:02:55.320 Like our democracy, we're all part of this new museum. 52 00:02:55.600 --> 00:02:57.480 I hope you enjoy the exhibit, and due course I 53 00:02:57.520 --> 00:02:59.640 look forward to seeing you all at the new National 54 00:02:59.720 --> 00:03:01.639 Museum of the American Latino. Thank you. 55 00:03:09.880 --> 00:03:14.640 From Fudromedia and PRX. It's Latino USA. I'm marieo Hosa. 56 00:03:14.919 --> 00:03:18.200 Today we trace the origins of the National Museum of 57 00:03:18.240 --> 00:03:26.040 the American Latino and how it's starting to take shape. 58 00:03:26.480 --> 00:03:32.080 Museums are political spaces. They carry a big responsibility to 59 00:03:32.160 --> 00:03:37.480 decide which stories and artifacts to preserve across generations. Over time, 60 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:41.640 they help define our social and cultural identities. The Smithsonian 61 00:03:41.720 --> 00:03:45.160 Institution is no exception, home to some of our biggest 62 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:49.760 national museums. The Smithsonian strives to capture the history and 63 00:03:49.880 --> 00:03:55.000 culture of the entire United States, but that's easier said 64 00:03:55.200 --> 00:04:00.000 than done. The institution has repeatedly failed to fulfill its 65 00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:03.240 mission in the past, especially when it comes to honoring 66 00:04:03.320 --> 00:04:08.880 and spotlighting black, Brown, Asian, and Indigenous people. Now, nearly 67 00:04:09.080 --> 00:04:14.040 two centuries after the Smithsonian was founded, its roster is 68 00:04:14.120 --> 00:04:18.120 expanding to include the National Museum of the American Latino. 69 00:04:21.560 --> 00:04:25.600 Getting here was decades in the making. In nineteen ninety four, 70 00:04:25.680 --> 00:04:30.080 the Smithsonian released a report called Willful Neglect, which found 71 00:04:30.120 --> 00:04:33.640 that Latinos and Latinas were left out in nearly every 72 00:04:33.880 --> 00:04:38.720 aspect of the Smithsonian's operation. The report made waves, and 73 00:04:38.960 --> 00:04:42.320 it sparked a campaign to create a national museum for 74 00:04:42.440 --> 00:04:47.320 Latinos and Latinas. After two decades, in late twenty twenty, 75 00:04:47.839 --> 00:04:51.800 Congress finally approved the creation of the National Museum of 76 00:04:51.839 --> 00:04:56.719 the American Latino. The National Museum of the American Latino 77 00:04:57.000 --> 00:05:00.839 doesn't even have a building yet, and it's not expected 78 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:03.760 to open to the public for at least another decade. 79 00:05:04.320 --> 00:05:08.040 But the museum is already making moves. A founding director, 80 00:05:08.480 --> 00:05:12.440 a board, and some core staff have been hired, and 81 00:05:12.640 --> 00:05:17.279 it's even debuted its first show it's already creating a 82 00:05:17.320 --> 00:05:20.479 foundation that the rest of the institution will be built 83 00:05:20.520 --> 00:05:26.680 off of, and that calls for some scrutiny. Full disclosure. Yes, 84 00:05:26.839 --> 00:05:30.600 I was interviewed and featured in the museum's latest show, Precente, 85 00:05:30.880 --> 00:05:34.240 because of my work as a Latina journalist, but I 86 00:05:34.240 --> 00:05:36.680 haven't been involved with the project in any other way, 87 00:05:36.720 --> 00:05:39.640 and neither has my team, and I haven't been involved 88 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:45.320 in reporting out this story. So with that said, how 89 00:05:45.400 --> 00:05:50.840 do you create a national Latino Museum Latino USA? Producers 90 00:05:50.880 --> 00:05:55.760 Alejandra Salasad and Reinaldo Les Junior trace how years of 91 00:05:55.880 --> 00:05:58.839 advocacy led us to this moment, and they're going to 92 00:05:58.880 --> 00:06:02.640 explore how the museum takes its first steps towards becoming 93 00:06:02.920 --> 00:06:05.680 a reality. 94 00:06:06.600 --> 00:06:10.640 We walk into the Smithsonian's Museum of American History, and 95 00:06:10.680 --> 00:06:13.720 we're welcomed by the word Precente. It's in all caps, 96 00:06:13.960 --> 00:06:16.080 cut out of a large black panel at the entrance 97 00:06:16.120 --> 00:06:20.760 of Molina Gallery. Brecenta's mission is to showcase how Latino 98 00:06:20.880 --> 00:06:25.760 history is American history. That's a significant challenge, and the 99 00:06:25.800 --> 00:06:29.719 show's ambition becomes even clearer when we go inside because 100 00:06:29.720 --> 00:06:33.880 the gallery isn't that big. It's basically one large room, 101 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:36.839 a modest size for a gallery meant to tell centries 102 00:06:36.920 --> 00:06:42.839 of LATINX narratives. Colorful artifacts hang on the wall. The 103 00:06:42.920 --> 00:06:46.039 first piece that greets us is this bright red dance 104 00:06:46.120 --> 00:06:49.839 outfit from New Mexico used in ceremonies honoring Native people 105 00:06:49.880 --> 00:06:50.520 from the region. 106 00:06:50.640 --> 00:06:54.719 And this is like this really beautiful dress with fringe 107 00:06:55.200 --> 00:06:56.440 and feathers. 108 00:06:56.080 --> 00:06:58.919 And beadwork behind it. There's like, you know, there's a 109 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:03.440 videoplane of wolf who are you know who are dancing 110 00:07:03.480 --> 00:07:05.480 and playing with some of their music as well. 111 00:07:07.080 --> 00:07:10.160 More items, over two hundred of them placed around the 112 00:07:10.200 --> 00:07:16.120 gallery tell stories of migration, colonialism, political movements, and LATINX culture. 113 00:07:16.520 --> 00:07:20.040 There's a registration form from eighteen sixty seven for Enslaved 114 00:07:20.080 --> 00:07:24.360 Persons in Puerto Rico, a nineteenth century printing press evoking 115 00:07:24.360 --> 00:07:28.080 the work of LATINX journalists and writers who documented historic 116 00:07:28.200 --> 00:07:32.200 moments like the Mexican American War. Tiny makeshift raft made 117 00:07:32.200 --> 00:07:36.400 of found materials like wood and styrofoam. Cuban refugees used 118 00:07:36.440 --> 00:07:38.640 it to make a two hundred and fifteen mile journey 119 00:07:38.720 --> 00:07:42.360 to the US back in the nineties. In old skateboard 120 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:45.800 and vintage punk music, records, a backpack and sneakers worn 121 00:07:45.840 --> 00:07:50.480 by migrants, construction hats and graduation caps, protest signs, and 122 00:07:50.560 --> 00:07:54.560 statuettes of Catholic saints. In other settings, these pieces might 123 00:07:54.640 --> 00:07:59.040 be dismissed as small everyday items. Now they sit under 124 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:02.720 spotlights in a national gallery space, each offering a small 125 00:08:02.760 --> 00:08:07.000 gateway to another person's life. Ray and I walk up 126 00:08:07.000 --> 00:08:09.320 to a sculpture. As we take in the piece, we 127 00:08:09.360 --> 00:08:11.800 get to speak with Henry Mugnos, the chairman of the 128 00:08:11.800 --> 00:08:14.400 board for the National Museum of the American Ladino. 129 00:08:15.400 --> 00:08:19.120 If you made me pick one thing in this entire gallery, 130 00:08:19.160 --> 00:08:24.520 I would pick the Tree of Life by Mayestra Veronica Castillo. 131 00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:27.440 I just think it's beautiful. 132 00:08:27.760 --> 00:08:30.720 The Tree of Life arbol de la Vida in Spanish 133 00:08:31.480 --> 00:08:33.760 l l la Vida is a popular kind of sculpture 134 00:08:33.920 --> 00:08:37.280 found throughout Mexico and inspired by the Biblical Tree of Life. 135 00:08:38.040 --> 00:08:41.200 Nonica's version here looks like a multi colored skeleton of 136 00:08:41.240 --> 00:08:45.280 a tree made of clay. Small figurines of latinx icons 137 00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:48.920 rest on its branches, like labor organizers, the Lorees Guerta 138 00:08:49.080 --> 00:08:53.760 and Emmatena Juca. Supreme Court Justice Sonia sot Major Baseball 139 00:08:53.800 --> 00:08:57.199 player Mariano Rivera, artist Anna Mendieta. 140 00:08:57.559 --> 00:08:59.000 I just think it's fantastic. 141 00:08:59.160 --> 00:09:03.760 It's Scott, the LGBTQ community, look at the astronauts. 142 00:09:03.840 --> 00:09:06.319 The storytelling is just fantastic. 143 00:09:06.760 --> 00:09:09.400 Henry has been involved with public efforts to create a 144 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:14.040 national LATINX museum for close to thirty years, basically since 145 00:09:14.040 --> 00:09:17.320 the Wilful Neglect Report revealed the lack of LATINX representation 146 00:09:17.480 --> 00:09:18.439 within the Smithsonian. 147 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:23.400 One of those people who's been waiting five hundred years 148 00:09:23.440 --> 00:09:24.280 for this to happen. 149 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:28.280 Henry's frustration over the slow moving process of making a 150 00:09:28.280 --> 00:09:38.880 new museum echoes across the Smithsonian's history. For example, the 151 00:09:38.920 --> 00:09:42.520 creation of the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian 152 00:09:42.960 --> 00:09:48.800 wasn't approved until November nineteen eighty nine, Yes, nineteen eighty nine. 153 00:09:50.200 --> 00:09:52.880 For more than a decade prior, Native American tribes and 154 00:09:52.920 --> 00:09:56.640 activists were publicly calling out museums across the country for 155 00:09:56.720 --> 00:10:00.800 stealing the bones and artifacts of their ancestors. At the 156 00:10:00.840 --> 00:10:03.880 center of it all was the Smithsonian, which was holding 157 00:10:03.920 --> 00:10:08.840 the skeletal remains of approximately eighteen thousand Native Americans. In 158 00:10:08.880 --> 00:10:13.120 September nineteen eighty nine, the Smithsonian finally agreed to repatriat 159 00:10:13.160 --> 00:10:17.720 remains to their respective tribes, a process that's still ongoing today. 160 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:20.920 That same year, legislation to create a National Museum of 161 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:24.880 the American Indian under the Smithsonian was introduced and passed 162 00:10:24.920 --> 00:10:28.040 in Congress. Fifteen years later, in two thousand and four, 163 00:10:28.520 --> 00:10:31.520 the museum in Washington, d C. Finally opened its doors. 164 00:10:32.080 --> 00:10:36.360 Following generations of exclusion and theft from Native Americans, it 165 00:10:36.400 --> 00:10:39.520 took the institution about one hundred and fifty years to 166 00:10:39.640 --> 00:10:42.800 highlight the people whose land its museums stand on to 167 00:10:42.840 --> 00:10:50.320 begin with. Another example is the most recent Smithsonian Museum, 168 00:10:51.240 --> 00:10:55.000 the National Museum of African American History and Culture, literally 169 00:10:55.080 --> 00:10:58.439 took a century to become a reality. Black Civil War 170 00:10:58.520 --> 00:11:01.480 veterans proposed the idea of for a monument or memorial 171 00:11:01.520 --> 00:11:05.319 for African Americans in nineteen fifteen, and a bill was 172 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:08.360 introduced to Congress a year later, but the idea would 173 00:11:08.400 --> 00:11:11.400 take years to garner political support, and even when it 174 00:11:11.400 --> 00:11:13.760 looked like it might happen every few decades or so, 175 00:11:14.400 --> 00:11:17.360 Congress wouldn't a lot enough funding to the project. An 176 00:11:17.400 --> 00:11:21.760 iteration of that legislation with partial funding was finally approved 177 00:11:21.760 --> 00:11:24.200 by Congress in two thousand and three, and the museum 178 00:11:24.280 --> 00:11:27.640 opened to the public over a decade later in twenty sixteen. 179 00:11:30.360 --> 00:11:33.800 Like these other museums, Henry believes a National Latino Museum 180 00:11:33.960 --> 00:11:37.480 is a chance to capture the various and varied roles 181 00:11:37.800 --> 00:11:40.200 Latinos have played in shaping this country. 182 00:11:40.520 --> 00:11:42.480 Our people have been here since before there was a 183 00:11:42.600 --> 00:11:47.040 United States of America, and so this gallery has an 184 00:11:47.040 --> 00:11:50.800 opportunity to create cultural understanding at a moment in our 185 00:11:50.840 --> 00:11:52.800 country's history where we really need it. 186 00:11:53.480 --> 00:11:57.079 Henry has spent decades working with the Smithsonian. He served 187 00:11:57.120 --> 00:11:59.760 on its national Board, and he eventually became the chairman 188 00:11:59.840 --> 00:12:03.600 of the Latino Center, the Smithsonian's response to its infamous report. 189 00:12:04.559 --> 00:12:07.080 Henry's a big donor too. His name is on the 190 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:10.640 wall at the entrance of the Precenta exhibition. It represents 191 00:12:10.720 --> 00:12:13.480 what he's been advocating for all these years. 192 00:12:14.040 --> 00:12:17.280 So the fact that it took, you know, thirty years 193 00:12:17.320 --> 00:12:21.200 of educating not just the members of Congress but the 194 00:12:21.240 --> 00:12:24.400 public about the importance of this museum is. 195 00:12:27.000 --> 00:12:28.199 That's just the way it is. 196 00:12:28.760 --> 00:12:30.840 And I'm glad that we're here today, and I hope 197 00:12:30.880 --> 00:12:32.920 I'm here long enough to see the opening of the 198 00:12:33.080 --> 00:12:36.199 doors of the National Museum of American Latino. 199 00:12:38.559 --> 00:12:41.719 Henry mentions Congress because way before the creation of a 200 00:12:41.800 --> 00:12:45.760 Latino museum was even a possibility, the battle to try 201 00:12:45.800 --> 00:12:49.040 to make that happen took place on Capitol Hill. 202 00:12:49.160 --> 00:12:52.920 My name is Ileana Ross Clayton, and and I was 203 00:12:52.920 --> 00:12:57.840 a member of Congress for almost thirty years representing South Florida. 204 00:12:57.960 --> 00:13:00.400 Ileana was born in Cuba and then moved to the 205 00:13:00.480 --> 00:13:03.400 US when she was just eight years old. She was 206 00:13:03.400 --> 00:13:06.520 elected to Congress over thirty years ago as a Republican. 207 00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:10.520 As a congresswoman, Ileana says she formally started pushing for 208 00:13:10.600 --> 00:13:14.000 a Latino museum back in two thousand and four, but 209 00:13:14.280 --> 00:13:17.440 she admits she saw the need for this much much sooner. 210 00:13:17.920 --> 00:13:20.960 Well, when I got elected in nineteen eighty nine, my 211 00:13:21.080 --> 00:13:24.200 children were very young, and I would take them to 212 00:13:24.480 --> 00:13:28.559 these beautiful museums that we have here in Washington, d c. 213 00:13:29.240 --> 00:13:33.160 And part of the Smithsonian Collage of Museums, and I 214 00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:36.439 would always be amazed that there was never any any 215 00:13:36.520 --> 00:13:41.720 section or any museum devoted to the growing impact of 216 00:13:42.160 --> 00:13:45.640 Hispanic communities throughout the United States. And I said, Wow, 217 00:13:45.679 --> 00:13:48.840 that's really missing. You know, maybe we should do something 218 00:13:48.880 --> 00:13:50.920 about that. There's a real void. 219 00:13:54.760 --> 00:13:58.840 To understand why Eleanna, a congresswoman, needed to get involved 220 00:13:58.880 --> 00:14:01.440 in this issue, we have to first understand that the 221 00:14:01.440 --> 00:14:05.520 Smithsonian is actually part of the federal government. It's granted 222 00:14:05.559 --> 00:14:09.480 authority over its own grounds and buildings, but it depends 223 00:14:09.559 --> 00:14:13.480 on Congress for some funding and the authorization of major 224 00:14:13.520 --> 00:14:18.479 projects projects like a National Latino Museum, and the Smithsonian 225 00:14:18.679 --> 00:14:23.040 is in part funded by US US taxpayers. In twenty 226 00:14:23.080 --> 00:14:26.360 twenty one, more than sixty percent of the institution's funding 227 00:14:26.720 --> 00:14:32.120 came from the federal government. Creating a National Latino Museum 228 00:14:32.360 --> 00:14:36.640 became a legislative priority for Ileana, and she started working 229 00:14:36.680 --> 00:14:40.440 on it with former Congressman Jose Serrano, a Democrat from 230 00:14:40.440 --> 00:14:43.800 New York. First, they needed to figure out what to 231 00:14:43.880 --> 00:14:44.240 call it. 232 00:14:44.600 --> 00:14:47.880 We fussed about whether it should be called Hispanic American 233 00:14:48.320 --> 00:14:50.720 or Latino I mean, Jos, all kinds of words that 234 00:14:50.760 --> 00:14:53.800 you could throw out as to who we were, and 235 00:14:53.840 --> 00:14:56.680 finally it was settled on the National Museum of the 236 00:14:56.760 --> 00:14:58.080 American Latino. 237 00:14:58.840 --> 00:15:01.360 Then it was time to draft some legislation. 238 00:15:02.360 --> 00:15:06.680 Jose and I filed a bill that would create a 239 00:15:06.800 --> 00:15:13.440 commission to study whether we could have such a museum. 240 00:15:13.960 --> 00:15:18.040 They couldn't introduce legislation to create a National Latino Museum 241 00:15:18.440 --> 00:15:22.360 without formally exploring the possibility first. After several years of 242 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:25.280 pushing for it, the creation of the commission was approved 243 00:15:25.280 --> 00:15:27.680 at the tail end of George W. Bush's time in 244 00:15:27.760 --> 00:15:31.000 office in two thousand and eight. The commission wouldn't actually 245 00:15:31.080 --> 00:15:34.480 be formed until a year later under the Obama administration. 246 00:15:35.640 --> 00:15:39.120 Remember Henry Munos now the chairman of the National Museum 247 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:42.840 of the American Latino. He was also the person chosen 248 00:15:42.920 --> 00:15:45.840 to lead this commission. This is Henry talking at a 249 00:15:45.880 --> 00:15:48.440 two thousand and nine press conference about the work ahead. 250 00:15:48.840 --> 00:15:51.760 I want to say that at this moment in our 251 00:15:51.840 --> 00:15:55.720 nation's history, the appointment of a commission that is composed 252 00:15:55.800 --> 00:15:59.440 of citizen members of people who will volunteer their time 253 00:15:59.480 --> 00:16:01.640 over the court of the next year to look at 254 00:16:01.640 --> 00:16:06.400 the location, the concepts, the collections, and the fundraising to 255 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:09.720 create a National Museum of the American Latino is historic. 256 00:16:10.240 --> 00:16:12.640 The group wrapped up and presented its findings to the 257 00:16:12.680 --> 00:16:16.640 President in twenty eleven. The result was what Ileana and 258 00:16:16.680 --> 00:16:21.000 supporting colleagues were hoping for, building a museum for Latinos 259 00:16:21.040 --> 00:16:25.360 on the National mall was possible and vital. Anything less 260 00:16:25.520 --> 00:16:26.400 would fall short. 261 00:16:26.720 --> 00:16:30.120 Once we had that, then we wanted to actually build 262 00:16:30.160 --> 00:16:34.240 the museum. Oh boy, it's a task worthy of hercules. 263 00:16:34.720 --> 00:16:39.960 But in twenty seventeen we introduced the National Museum of 264 00:16:40.080 --> 00:16:43.320 the American Latino Act. And I'm sorry to give you 265 00:16:43.360 --> 00:16:46.880 such a chronology, but it's been quite a struggle. 266 00:16:47.160 --> 00:16:50.560 The bill had a surprising amount of bipartisan support behind it, 267 00:16:50.920 --> 00:16:54.840 especially from senators and House members who represented areas with 268 00:16:55.040 --> 00:16:59.480 large LATINX populations. The National Latino Museum was backed by 269 00:16:59.480 --> 00:17:04.200 people like then California Congressman Javiert Becera. Today he's President 270 00:17:04.280 --> 00:17:06.880 Biden's Secretary of Health and Human Services. 271 00:17:07.200 --> 00:17:09.840 If you walk through the mall of the nation's capital, 272 00:17:10.280 --> 00:17:14.160 you could come out understanding better than any place also 273 00:17:14.200 --> 00:17:16.119 the world, what it means to be an American. But 274 00:17:16.760 --> 00:17:19.879 once you finish that walk through all those museums along 275 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:22.080 the mall, you don't have a complete picture. 276 00:17:22.440 --> 00:17:25.880 Former Senator Ken Salas out of Colorado and Senator Bob 277 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:30.160 Menendez of New Jersey, both Democrats, supported the museum, and 278 00:17:30.320 --> 00:17:34.000 some Republican heavyweights also threw their support behind it. The 279 00:17:34.080 --> 00:17:37.280 late Senator Orrin Hatch from Utah was an early proponent, 280 00:17:37.760 --> 00:17:42.040 and Texas Senator John Cornyn helped introduce the final legislation 281 00:17:42.119 --> 00:17:45.200 that would make the museum official. But it wasn't all 282 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:45.959 smooth sailing. 283 00:17:46.320 --> 00:17:49.600 There were many moments where we thought, oh my goodness, 284 00:17:49.640 --> 00:17:52.159 this is just never going to get off the ground. 285 00:17:55.280 --> 00:17:59.120 There were many arguments against creating a National Latino Museum, 286 00:17:59.560 --> 00:18:03.119 things like it was too expensive or too political. There 287 00:18:03.160 --> 00:18:06.760 were also objections to building on the National Mall. One 288 00:18:06.800 --> 00:18:10.440 line of thinking from several people in Congress was that, oh, 289 00:18:10.560 --> 00:18:13.760 if we give Latinos a museum, then every quote unquote 290 00:18:13.760 --> 00:18:17.520 minority group is going to want one. Another popular suggestion 291 00:18:17.680 --> 00:18:21.480 among those not in favor was, instead of a Latino museum, 292 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:25.200 why not a national immigration museum. Wouldn't that be more 293 00:18:25.200 --> 00:18:29.520 inclusive of other communities. Here's Utah Senator Mike Lee, who 294 00:18:29.560 --> 00:18:33.440 at one point blocked legislation to create a National Latino Museum. 295 00:18:33.760 --> 00:18:36.400 But the last thing we need is to further divide 296 00:18:36.560 --> 00:18:40.840 an already divided nation with an array of segregated, separate 297 00:18:40.840 --> 00:18:44.320 but equal museums for hyphenated identity groups. 298 00:18:44.520 --> 00:18:46.760 It was an ongoing tug of war, and the bill 299 00:18:46.880 --> 00:18:49.600 kept getting bogged down and kicked off the floor for 300 00:18:49.680 --> 00:18:54.000 many years. Then December twenty twenty came along. We were 301 00:18:54.040 --> 00:18:57.920 in the midst of an unprecedented pandemic and political tensions 302 00:18:57.960 --> 00:19:01.800 in the US were reaching all time highs. Congress was 303 00:19:01.800 --> 00:19:06.320 on the verge of passing COVID nineteen relief legislation, so 304 00:19:06.600 --> 00:19:10.080 Iliana and her colleagues decided to attach their bill for 305 00:19:10.160 --> 00:19:14.320 a National Latino Museum to this larger package. It was 306 00:19:14.359 --> 00:19:17.800 a tactical move, she says. They knew the COVID legislation 307 00:19:18.200 --> 00:19:22.639 had to pass, and it finally did on December twenty seven, 308 00:19:22.920 --> 00:19:26.800 twenty twenty. The National Latino Museum was wrapped up in 309 00:19:26.840 --> 00:19:31.120 a nearly nine hundred billion dollars COVID nineteen relief package 310 00:19:31.440 --> 00:19:35.440 like a trojan horse. Iliana says, the Trump administration took 311 00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:36.800 it in stride. 312 00:19:36.960 --> 00:19:39.480 I guess some people would think that it was ironic, 313 00:19:39.800 --> 00:19:43.320 but actually the Trump administration did not fight this bill 314 00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:47.800 at all. 315 00:19:47.960 --> 00:19:51.800 The President's signature greenlit the creation of the National Museum 316 00:19:51.880 --> 00:19:55.200 of the American Latino. It also approved its funding model. 317 00:19:55.560 --> 00:19:57.920 Half of the money would come from Congress and half 318 00:19:57.960 --> 00:20:01.080 would need to be fundraised from private donors. It's the 319 00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:04.280 same funding model the National Museum of African American History 320 00:20:04.280 --> 00:20:07.880 and Culture used. The cost of the National Latino Museum 321 00:20:08.040 --> 00:20:10.479 is projected to be anywhere between six hundred to eight 322 00:20:10.560 --> 00:20:14.800 hundred million dollars, though that's subject to change. The museum 323 00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:17.760 is going to need some big funders, which often means 324 00:20:17.760 --> 00:20:23.399 big companies. Walmart, Microsoft, Wells, Fargo, Bank of America, and 325 00:20:23.520 --> 00:20:26.920 Coca Cola are among those that have already pledged some millions. 326 00:20:27.800 --> 00:20:30.560 Along with securing its funding, the museum also needs to 327 00:20:30.600 --> 00:20:33.960 find its home. The location is highly contested right now, 328 00:20:34.119 --> 00:20:36.320 either to be on the National Mall across from the 329 00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:39.840 National Museum of African American History and Culture or on 330 00:20:39.880 --> 00:20:43.080 a different site. And then there's the question of staffing 331 00:20:43.560 --> 00:20:47.439 and curation and along that process, building an institution for 332 00:20:47.480 --> 00:20:51.080 the future that is representative of everyone in the LATINX community, 333 00:20:51.400 --> 00:21:02.399 cross generations, race, gender, and nationality. Easy right, Yeah. Precente 334 00:21:02.560 --> 00:21:05.159 started to give life to the National Museum of the 335 00:21:05.160 --> 00:21:09.760 American Latino and as the space becomes more and more tangible, 336 00:21:09.960 --> 00:21:13.520 more real, people within the community are starting to ask 337 00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:16.399 whose stories are going to be on its walls and 338 00:21:16.440 --> 00:21:21.200 floors and who might be left out. Here's Henry Munos 339 00:21:21.280 --> 00:21:23.280 the chairman of the board for the Latino Museum. 340 00:21:23.400 --> 00:21:27.280 Again, well it's a queer brown chairman of the National 341 00:21:27.320 --> 00:21:30.520 Museum of the American Latino. I would say that museums 342 00:21:30.520 --> 00:21:36.680 have always their strongest when there are places of conversation, 343 00:21:37.280 --> 00:21:41.040 and those conversations are not always easy. And this is 344 00:21:41.080 --> 00:21:44.800 the beginning of this process. So I would say, come 345 00:21:44.840 --> 00:21:45.160 on in. 346 00:21:47.320 --> 00:21:50.439 Who gets to be part of the National Museum of 347 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:54.960 the American Latino, both behind the scenes and on display. 348 00:21:55.480 --> 00:22:00.119 That question hangs in the ballots as this institution begins 349 00:22:00.119 --> 00:22:08.200 to take shape. Stay with us, Yes, hey, we're back. 350 00:22:08.920 --> 00:22:11.000 When we left off, we heard from some of the 351 00:22:11.080 --> 00:22:14.119 people that were trying to make the National Museum of 352 00:22:14.160 --> 00:22:19.320 the American Latino a reality. Now, as efforts to build 353 00:22:19.359 --> 00:22:22.240 it are underway, we're going to dive behind the scenes 354 00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:25.919 to try to understand the vision of this museum and 355 00:22:26.040 --> 00:22:30.439 how crucial it is to include different voices in the process. 356 00:22:31.720 --> 00:22:34.199 At Waterloo, dis is giving us a tour of some 357 00:22:34.280 --> 00:22:36.200 of its favorite spots in Presente. 358 00:22:36.720 --> 00:22:39.040 This has been seven years of a lot of hard work. 359 00:22:39.040 --> 00:22:42.119 We started from nothing. We had no project manager, we 360 00:22:42.200 --> 00:22:45.199 had no space, we had no money, you know, but 361 00:22:45.280 --> 00:22:48.520 it was built on a desire to you know, plant 362 00:22:48.520 --> 00:22:48.959 the flag. 363 00:22:49.600 --> 00:22:52.800 Until recently, at Wataho was the director of the Smithsonian 364 00:22:52.880 --> 00:22:56.600 Latino Center. The center has been around since nineteen ninety seven. 365 00:22:56.920 --> 00:22:59.920 It was the Smithsonian's response to its report about Latino. 366 00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:03.040 At Waado let the center from two thousand and eight 367 00:23:03.280 --> 00:23:06.360 until it got absorbed into the Museum of the American Latino. 368 00:23:06.560 --> 00:23:09.320 In the last two years. At Wardo is now the 369 00:23:09.400 --> 00:23:12.480 Museum's acting deputy director, you know. 370 00:23:12.480 --> 00:23:14.400 And I love very much that we're able to tell 371 00:23:14.440 --> 00:23:15.800 stories that people don't. 372 00:23:15.640 --> 00:23:19.159 Know about, stories like so Theo Figaroa's. 373 00:23:20.240 --> 00:23:23.359 You know, he is Afro Puerto Rican guy, and of course, 374 00:23:23.400 --> 00:23:26.000 you know, we know that Afro Puerto Ricans didn't have 375 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:30.440 the same access generally speaking, to resources, including quality education 376 00:23:30.600 --> 00:23:33.800 on the island. So one of the things that made 377 00:23:33.880 --> 00:23:39.520 too Figaroa so literate, so committed was he was a typesetter. 378 00:23:39.640 --> 00:23:43.320 So that's the way he learned it and enhances his literacy. 379 00:23:43.680 --> 00:23:46.080 So Thato later moved to New York, where he founded 380 00:23:46.119 --> 00:23:49.360 in Brenda America. It was a print shop in Lower 381 00:23:49.440 --> 00:23:53.760 Manhattan that produced the Cuban Revolutionary Parties newspaper. He also 382 00:23:53.800 --> 00:23:58.440 contributed to other local Spanish language publications. The hidden histories 383 00:23:58.480 --> 00:24:01.440 continue now on the west coast. 384 00:24:01.880 --> 00:24:05.080 You see toy Purina the San Gabriel over here. She 385 00:24:05.359 --> 00:24:09.560 was a freedom fighter from the San Gabriel Mission, Tongva 386 00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:15.280 woman who was resisting the Spanish imposition of the mission systems, 387 00:24:16.040 --> 00:24:20.000 which were essentially it was enslavement as basically. But we 388 00:24:20.040 --> 00:24:22.200 don't know about toy Purina, right, and there's so many 389 00:24:22.200 --> 00:24:25.240 other characters. So who was the Stevan Nico, right, the 390 00:24:25.240 --> 00:24:28.640 first African person to come out to the American continent. Right, 391 00:24:28.680 --> 00:24:31.720 it's a slave, a Berber Muslim. And then there's Pope 392 00:24:31.960 --> 00:24:34.280 that the Bublo we're bolted sixteen eighty that bluted the 393 00:24:34.280 --> 00:24:36.480 Spaniards out of what is not Santa Fin. 394 00:24:37.280 --> 00:24:40.760 Eduardo says that a sculpture of Pueblo revolutionary leader Pope 395 00:24:41.320 --> 00:24:44.960 will be the museum's first acquisition in honor of Latino's 396 00:24:44.960 --> 00:24:48.159 indigenous roots. The black and Greek piece was made in 397 00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:54.120 twenty eighteen by Pueblo artists Virgil Ortiz. Along with Eduardo's 398 00:24:54.160 --> 00:24:56.840 personal tour, we noticed some more things in the show. 399 00:24:57.320 --> 00:25:01.000 There were artifacts and stories about US expansion and the 400 00:25:01.040 --> 00:25:04.760 Puerto Rican independence movement. A few steps ahead, there were 401 00:25:04.760 --> 00:25:08.600