Moran Proposes Considering 'Melting Pot Museum'

Congressman Jim Moran, a Democrat who represents the 8th District of Virginia, introduced a bill on Thursday to create a Presidential Commission that would study the creation of a "melting pot museum" on the National Mall.

The museum would be called the Museum of the American People.

"With 160 museums and monuments along the National Mall, there is no one institution telling the complete narrative of the many vibrant ethnicities that make up the fabric of the American experience," Moran said in a news release.

Moran's proposal comes two months after he was criticized for saying that ethnic heritage museums will only be visited by members of that ethnic group.

"The Museum of American History is where all the white folks are going to go, and the American Indian Museum is where Indians are going to feel at home," Moran said in May.

Fairfax County, which makes up part of the 8th District which Moran represents, is something of a melting pot itself. In 1970, less than 7 percent of the county’s population were ethnic or racial minorities. Today, more than 45 percent of the county’s population are ethnic or racial minorities, according to the 2010 Census.

"The Museum of the American People would bring together all of the stories of the ethnicities that make up the fabric of our society, precluding the need for more and more individual museums representing one particular entity or culture," Moran said.

Meanwhile, another presidential commission recently called for a Latino museum to be added to the Smithsonian Institution.

The proposed legislation for the Museum of the American People, which supporters say would be built without using any federal tax dollars, enjoys bipartisan support in Congress as well as approval from more than 130 ethnic and minority groups.

Funding for a Presidential Commission to study the establishment of a museum as well as construction would be derived solely from private donations, the news release from Moran's office noted.

Sam Eskenazi, director of the Coalition for the National Museum of the American People, said he envisions the museum as a destination "for foreign visitors who would learn about natives from their countries who became Americans. It could become one of the world's most visited museums."

Although several locations are being discussed, supporters hope to build the museum at a spot located at the end of L'Enfant Plaza in an area called the Banneker Overlook, linking the National Mall and the Southwest Waterfront along Maine Avenue.

The museum would be within view of the Smithsonian's Castle Building, and a short walk from L'Enfant Plaza. The site would provide views of the Potomac River as well as of Virginia and Maryland. Also near the site: The L'Enfant Plaza Metro Station.