The National Museum of African American History and Culture announced today that media
mogul, actress, and philanthropist
Oprah Winfrey has pledged to donate $12 million to the museum, in addition to the $1 million donation
she made in 2007.
The museum, scheduled to open in 2015, is the 19th Smithsonian institution and the
last to open on the Mall. It will pay tribute to the rich and complex history of African
American culture in the US. Winfrey is on the museum’s advisory council, along with
other luminaries and artists such as
Quincy Jones, former First Lady
Laura Bush, and former Secretary of State
Colin Powell.
The donation is the largest pledge the museum has received from a single person, and
will help fund the museum’s theater, which will be named the Oprah Winfrey Theater
and will host film screenings, theater works, and other performances.
“I am so proud of African-American history and its contributions to our nation as
a whole,” Winfrey said in a statement. “I am deeply appreciative of all who paved
the path for me and all who follow in their footsteps. By investing in this museum,
I want to help ensure that we both honor and preserve our culture and history, so
that the stories of who we are will live on for generations to come.” Winfrey has
donated an estimated $400 million to charitable causes during her lifetime.
Winfrey stars in the upcoming Washington-set movie
The Butler as the wife of Cecil Gaines, a White House butler who served eight different presidents.
It’s her first appearance in a motion picture in 15 years, since her lead role in
the film adaptation of Toni Morrison’s
Beloved. (See the trailer for
The Butler in our earlier
post.)
