nwasianweekly.com
Mar. 15, 2008

Photo by Assunta Ng

Carver C. Gayton is the executive director of the Northwest African American Museum.

An opportunity for cultural exchange

We would like to extend a hearty congratulation to the Northwest African American Museum, which opened its doors March 8. Congratulations to a new cultural institution, to a new marker of progress and establishment for the African American community, and to the materialization of a dream, after 30 years of dreams and plans. The Seattle P-I reported that at the opening ceremony, museum Executive Director Carver Gayton cheered, “Finished at last! Finished at last!”

We are also extremely excited about the Northwest African American Museum, not only for what it means for the local African American community, but for the city as a whole. Two gorgeous ethnic museums opening around the same time (Wing Luke opens in its new building May 31) is an incredible boon to Seattle. We’re incredibly fortunate to have so many cultural institutions here — not only these two museums, but also the newly expanded Seattle Art Museum, the Seattle Asian Art Museum, which will undergo an extensive renovation next year, and the beautiful Olympic Sculpture Park. Seattle is a relatively small city to be blessed with so many cultural and artistic institutions.

We hope that Wing Luke Asian Museum and Northwest African American Museum will partner in the future and develop programs that promote cross-cultural understanding. Some might perceive two ethnic museums as necessarily competing for funding and programming, but this patently does not need to be the case.

The two communities, and the two museums, have common ground to explore and share. Wing Luke and Northwest African American Museum will not only add to the overall diversity in Seattle simply with their presence, but they will ensure that diversity is recognized, honored and continuously studied.

The Asian American community has a duty to learn about and try to understand other ethnic and immigrant communities. We should try to build bridges and learn from the African American community — their history here is much longer and extensive. Our communities should help one another, but of course, that can only happen if understanding comes first.

As a community, Asian Americans are ready to reach out and appreciate other cultures. The opportunity to do so is a privilege. Most immigrants came from homogenous countries, where there weren’t many chances for cross-cultural exchanges. The opportunity to interact with other cultures is an American opportunity, one that should be taken advantage of.

Sen. Barack Obama has the potential to be the country’s first African American and minority president, yet another of many incentives to reach out and better understand the African American community.

We encourage all our readers to visit the Northwest African American museum, especially during these opening weeks. We especially encourage community members to take your children along and start a dialogue with them about what you see and learn while at the museum.

Send correspondence to:
Northwest Asian Weekly • P.O. Box 3468 • Seattle • WA  98114
Tel: 206.223.5559 •  Fax: 206.223.0626 • Email: scpnwan@nwlink.com
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