Unlocking the Heart of America with Zohery Tours

In this captivating broadcast of the Daily Washington, D.C. Sightseeing Podcast, host Dr. Ali Zohery takes his audience on a profound intellectual journey into one of the National Mall’s greatest landmarks: the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. Situated at 1300 Constitution Avenue NW, this institution is far more than an exhibition hall; it is the physical repository of the triumphs, struggles, and innovations that forged the United States.

The Living Chronicle of a Nation

Throughout the episode, Dr. Zohery unpacks the stories behind essential national icons:

• The Star-Spangled Banner: The giant flag that withstood the 1814 Battle of Fort McHenry and inspired Francis Scott Key to pen the national anthem, standing today as a monument to national resilience.
• The American Presidency & First Ladies: From George Washington’s uniform and Thomas Jefferson’s drafting desk to the historic First Ladies gown collection, illustrating both political leadership and evolving social norms.
• The Greensboro Lunch Counter: Four students who stood up to segregation without weapons, wielding only conviction and dignity to ignite a pivotal chapter in the Civil Rights Movement.
• Culture, Industry & Everyday Life: Landmark shifts in transportation, technological inventions from Edison to computing, the rich tapestry of African American music (jazz, blues, gospel), and cultural touchstones like Dorothy’s ruby slippers.

Why Zohery Tours Is Your Gateway to Capital History

Walking through millions of artifacts without an expert can easily feel overwhelming. Dr. Zohery’s deep historical context, academic rigor, and four decades of local mastery prove why Zohery Tours remains Washington, D.C.’s premier sightseeing service. Whether booking the classic Grand D.C. Tour, the enchanting Washington After Dark, or a tailored private exploration, Dr. Zohery turns passive sightseeing into an unforgettable narrative experience.

• Book Online: www.zohery.com
• Direct Booking & Inquiries: (202) 554-4200 / (202) 437-1295
• Podcast Broadcasts: Streamed live daily at 6:00 PM EST

مراجعة باللغة العربية: استكشاف ذاكرة أمة مع «زهيري تورز»

في هذا البث الشيق من بودكاست جولات واشنطن دي سي اليومية (Daily Washington, D.C. Sightseeing Podcast)، يصحبنا الدكتور علي زهيري في جولة تاريخية استثنائية تسلط الضوء على المتحف الوطني للتاريخ الأمريكي (National Museum of American History) التابع لمؤسسة سميثسونيان العريقة في قلب العاصمة واشنطن.

من المقتنيات النادرة إلى حكايات الشعوب

يستعرض الدكتور علي زهيري في حديثه كيف تحولت المقتنيات البسيطة إلى شواهد خالدة على الهوية الأمريكية:

• راية النجوم المتلألئة (Star-Spangled Banner): العلم التاريخي الضخم الذي صمد خلال معركة فورت ماكهنري عام 1814 وألهم كتابة النشيد الوطني الأمريكي.
• الرئاسة الأمريكية والسيدات الأوليات: مقتنيات تجسد صناعة القرار من بزة جورج واشنطن ومكتب توماس جيفرسون، وصولاً إلى أزياء السيدات الأوليات وتأثيرهن في الحياة العامة.
• منضدة مطعم جرينسبورو (Greensboro Lunch Counter): رمز الكفاح السلمي لحركة الحقوق المدنية ضد التمييز العنصري الذي قاده أربعة طلاب شجعان بإرادتهم وعزيمتهم.
• روح المجتمع والابتكار: محطات التحول في النقل والتكنولوجيا، وإسهامات الثقافة والموسيقى الأمريكية من الجاز والبلوز إلى السينما وهوليوود.

لماذا تختار شركة «زهيري تورز» (Zohery Tours)؟

زيارة واشنطن العاصمة لا تكتمل دون فهم القصص العميقة الكامنة وراء صروحها ومتاحفها. تقدم شركة زهيري تورز بقيادة الدكتور علي زهيري – بخبرته التي تمتد لأربعة عقود – أرقى الجولات السياحية الشاملة في واشنطن؛ متضمنة جولات المعالم الكبرى، والجولات الليلية الساحرة، والرحلات الخاصة المصممة حسب الطلب، لتحويل كل جولة إلى تجربة حية لا تُنسى.

• الموقع الإلكتروني والحجز: www.zohery.com
• أرقام التواصل المباشر: 4200-554 (202) / 1295-437 (202)
• مواعيد البودكاست: بث حي يومياً في تمام الساعة 6:00 مساءً بتوقيت واشنطن

Issue 23: The National Museum of American History

A Nation Told Through Objects

How can a flag, a lunch counter, a writing desk, a pair of shoes, or a family photograph explain the history of a nation? This issue accompanies Dr. Ali Zohery’s podcast journey through the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.—a museum where political ideals, everyday life, invention, protest, music, travel, and memory meet.

The museum stands on the National Mall at 1300 Constitution Avenue NW, between 12th and 14th Streets. It opened in 1964 as the Museum of History and Technology and received its present name in 1980. Its purpose is larger than displaying famous treasures: it collects, protects, studies, and interprets the material evidence through which people have created and contested the American story.

The episode’s central message is simple: history is not remote. It lives in what people wear, build, sing, cook, write, preserve, and pass to the next generation. Presidents and great public events matter, but so do students, workers, families, immigrants, inventors, artists, and citizens who act with courage.

Written and presented by Dr. Ali Zohery, Ph.D.
25 September 2026
Podcast and travel archive: www.zohery.com | +1-202-437-1295

THE DIGITAL MAGAZINE AND ARCHIVE OF THE DR. ALI ZOHERY PODCAST

Issue 23: The National Museum of American History

A Nation Told Through Objects

How can a flag, a lunch counter, a writing desk, a pair of shoes, or a family photograph explain the history of a nation? This issue accompanies Dr. Ali Zohery’s podcast journey through the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.—a museum where political ideals, everyday life, invention, protest, music, travel, and memory meet.

The museum stands on the National Mall at 1300 Constitution Avenue NW, between 12th and 14th Streets. It opened in 1964 as the Museum of History and Technology and received its present name in 1980. Its purpose is larger than displaying famous treasures: it collects, protects, studies, and interprets the material evidence through which people have created and contested the American story.

The episode’s central message is simple: history is not remote. It lives in what people wear, build, sing, cook, write, preserve, and pass to the next generation. Presidents and great public events matter, but so do students, workers, families, immigrants, inventors, artists, and citizens who act with courage.

Written and presented by Dr. Ali Zohery, Ph.D.
25 September 2026
Podcast and travel archive: www.zohery.com | +1-202-437-1295

PAGE 2 • THE SYMBOLS OF A NATION

The Star-Spangled Banner, Presidency, and First Ladies

Public ideals preserved in personal objects

The museum’s most celebrated object is the Star-Spangled Banner, the enormous flag that flew over Fort McHenry during the British attack in September 1814. Francis Scott Key’s sight of the flag after the bombardment inspired the poem that later supplied the words of the United States national anthem. In the museum, the flag is more than fabric: it connects war, survival, music, national identity, and the patient science of conservation.

Nearby stories of the American presidency make leadership tangible. George Washington’s military uniform recalls the commander of the Continental Army and the country’s first president. Thomas Jefferson’s portable writing desk is associated with the drafting of the Declaration of Independence. Campaign material, clothing, letters, and White House possessions allow visitors to encounter presidents as working human beings whose decisions were shaped by their times.

The First Ladies collection widens that political story. Dresses, shoes, personal belongings, and objects used in public appearances document fashion and ceremony, but also changing expectations of women in national life. Clothing can reveal technology, social class, public image, and political symbolism. These objects remind us that history is shaped not only in offices of government, but also through families, communities, service, advocacy, and cultural leadership.

Together, these galleries ask visitors to look beyond fame. A national symbol gains meaning through the people who preserve it; an office gains meaning through the responsibilities it imposes; and a garment becomes evidence when we ask who wore it, on what occasion, and what society expected that person to represent. Objects become historical sources when curiosity turns them into questions.

PAGE 3 • DEMOCRACY AND CIVIL RIGHTS

The Greensboro Lunch Counter

How ordinary people move history

A section of the lunch counter from the F. W. Woolworth store in Greensboro, North Carolina, is among the museum’s most powerful objects. On February 1, 1960, four Black college students—Ezell Blair Jr. (later Jibreel Khazan), Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, and David Richmond—sat at the segregated counter and asked to be served. They were refused, but they returned. Their disciplined protest helped inspire sit-ins across the country.

The counter appears ordinary, and that is precisely why it carries such force. It shows how discrimination operated in the routines of daily life and how a familiar public space could become a stage for moral courage. The students carried no weapons. They brought preparation, conviction, patience, and a demand that the nation honor its own promise of equal citizenship.

The museum presents democracy as an unfinished conversation. Voting, elections, citizenship, freedom of speech, protest, and accountable leadership are not merely legal terms; they are practices shaped by participation. American history includes achievement and reform, but it also includes exclusion, injustice, conflict, and sacrifice. Preserving the difficult chapters prevents a comfortable but incomplete memory from replacing the truth.

African American history is central to this national story. The histories of slavery and emancipation, Reconstruction, segregation, military service, education, faith, business, music, science, and civil rights cannot be separated from the history of the United States. The Greensboro counter therefore speaks beyond one city or one year. It asks every generation: Who belongs? Who is heard? And what peaceful action can turn an ideal into lived reality?

PAGE 4 • INVENTION AND EVERYDAY LIFE

Movement, Technology, Music, and Popular Culture

The nation changes when daily life changes

Railroads, automobiles, public transit, roads, and airplanes do more than move machines. They move workers, families, soldiers, students, visitors, ideas, and goods. Transportation transformed where Americans could live and work, connected distant regions, encouraged tourism and trade, and helped create modern cities. A locomotive or automobile is therefore both an engineering achievement and evidence of human movement.

The same principle applies to communication and household technology. Telephones reduced the tyranny of distance; sound recording changed how music could be shared; computers transformed business, education, government, science, and personal life; refrigerators and other appliances altered food, work, and family routines. Innovation begins with human needs—the desire to solve problems, save time, heal, travel, communicate, create, and understand.

Music and entertainment preserve emotional history. Jazz, blues, gospel, country, rock and roll, radio, film, and television express joy, sorrow, faith, protest, love, and hope. They also reveal cultural exchange among African, European, Indigenous, Caribbean, immigrant, and other traditions. Dorothy’s ruby slippers from The Wizard of Oz show how a film object can connect generations through imagination and shared memory.

Food and domestic objects deserve the same attention. A package can document advertising and consumer culture; a refrigerator can reveal changes in preservation; a table can record family custom. American foodways carry Indigenous, African American, European, Latin American, Asian American, Middle Eastern, and many other influences. Everyday life is not a footnote to history—it is one of its richest archives.

PAGE 5 • VISITOR’S GUIDE AND REFLECTION

Many Voices, One Nation

Choose a theme, follow a question, remember one object

The exhibition Many Voices, One Nation explores how distinct peoples and cultures have shaped and negotiated life in the United States. Indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans and their descendants, immigrants, refugees, workers, farmers, soldiers, artists, entrepreneurs, and families are not side stories. Their encounters—sometimes cooperative, sometimes painful—formed a national identity that continues to change.

A strong visit does not require seeing everything. Choose a theme. For presidential history, look for Washington’s uniform and Jefferson’s writing desk. For civil rights, begin with the Greensboro lunch counter and continue through galleries on democracy and social change. For innovation, follow transportation, communications, science, and industry. Families may prefer food, music, toys, film, and familiar household objects. The best visit may be the one in which a single object remains in the mind.

Questions for discussion: Which object from American history would you most like to see? Why is the Star-Spangled Banner important beyond its appearance? What can a lunch counter teach about citizenship? Which invention has most changed your daily life? How does music preserve collective memory? What object from your own family or culture deserves to be preserved, and what story would it tell?

Visitor information verified for this issue: the museum is at 1300 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, D.C., between 12th and 14th Streets. It is generally open daily from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., except December 25. Admission is free and no passes are normally required. Always check americanhistory.si.edu/visit before traveling because hours and exhibitions may change.

Explore Washington with Zohery Tours—scholar-led experiences connecting museums, monuments, communities, and the stories behind them. Reservations and information: www.zohery.com | +1-202-437-1295. Behind every achievement, there is a story worth telling.

الْمَجَلَّةُ الرَّقْمِيَّةُ وَأَرْشِيفُ بُودْكَاسْتِ الدُّكْتُورِ عَلِيٍّ الزُّهَيْرِي

الْعَدَدُ ٢٣: الْمُتْحَفُ الْقَوْمِيُّ لِلتَّارِيخِ الْأَمْرِيكِيِّ

أُمَّةٌ تَرْوِي حِكَايَتَهَا مِنْ خِلَالِ الْأَشْيَاءِ

كَيْفَ يُمْكِنُ لِعَلَمٍ، أَوْ مِنْضَدَةِ طَعَامٍ، أَوْ مَكْتَبٍ صَغِيرٍ، أَوْ زَوْجٍ مِنَ الْأَحْذِيَةِ، أَوْ صُورَةٍ عَائِلِيَّةٍ أَنْ يَشْرَحَ تَارِيخَ أُمَّةٍ؟ يُرَافِقُ هَذَا الْعَدَدُ حَلْقَةَ الدُّكْتُورِ عَلِيٍّ الزُّهَيْرِي عَنِ الْمُتْحَفِ الْقَوْمِيِّ لِلتَّارِيخِ الْأَمْرِيكِيِّ فِي وَاشِنْطُن؛ حَيْثُ تَلْتَقِي السِّيَاسَةُ بِالْحَيَاةِ الْيَوْمِيَّةِ، وَالِاخْتِرَاعُ بِالذَّاكِرَةِ، وَالْمُوسِيقَى بِالْحُرِّيَّةِ.

يَقَعُ الْمُتْحَفُ فِي الْمُتَنَزَّهِ الْوَطَنِيِّ، فِي 1300 شَارِعِ كُونْسْتِتُوشِن شَمَالَ غَرْبِيِّ وَاشِنْطُن، بَيْنَ الشَّارِعَيْنِ الثَّانِي عَشَرَ وَالرَّابِعَ عَشَرَ. اِفْتُتِحَ سَنَةَ 1964 بِاسْمِ مُتْحَفِ التَّارِيخِ وَالتِّكْنُولُوجْيَا، وَحَمَلَ اسْمَهُ الْحَالِيَّ سَنَةَ 1980. وَرِسَالَتُهُ لَا تَقْتَصِرُ عَلَى عَرْضِ الْكُنُوزِ؛ بَلْ تَشْمَلُ جَمْعَ الشَّوَاهِدِ الْمَادِّيَّةِ وَحِفْظَهَا وَدِرَاسَتَهَا وَتَفْسِيرَهَا.

رِسَالَةُ الْحَلْقَةِ وَاضِحَةٌ: التَّارِيخُ لَيْسَ بَعِيدًا عَنَّا. إِنَّهُ يَعِيشُ فِيمَا نَلْبَسُهُ وَنَبْنِيهِ وَنُغَنِّيهِ وَنَطْهُوهُ وَنَكْتُبُهُ وَنَحْفَظُهُ لِلْأَجْيَالِ. لِلرُّؤَسَاءِ وَالْأَحْدَاثِ الْكُبْرَى مَكَانُهُمْ، وَلَكِنَّ لِلطُّلَّابِ وَالْعُمَّالِ وَالْأُسَرِ وَالْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالْمُبْدِعِينَ وَالْمُوَاطِنِينَ مَكَانًا لَا يَقِلُّ أَهَمِّيَّةً.

كِتَابَةٌ وَتَقْدِيمٌ: د. عَلِيٌّ الزُّهَيْرِي، Ph.D.
٢٥ سِبْتَمْبَر ٢٠٢٦
www.zohery.com | +1-202-437-1295

الصَّفْحَةُ ٧ • رُمُوزُ الْأُمَّةِ

رَايَةُ النُّجُومِ وَالرِّئَاسَةُ وَالسَّيِّدَاتُ الْأُوَلُ

الْمُثُلُ الْعَامَّةُ فِي أَشْيَاءَ شَخْصِيَّةٍ

أَشْهَرُ مَعْرُوضَاتِ الْمُتْحَفِ هُوَ عَلَمُ «رَايَةِ النُّجُومِ»، الَّذِي رُفِعَ فَوْقَ حِصْنِ مَكْهِنْرِي أَثْنَاءَ الْهُجُومِ الْبِرِيطَانِيِّ فِي سِبْتَمْبَر 1814. وَحِينَ رَآهُ فْرَانْسِيسْ سْكُوتْ كِي مَا زَالَ مُرْتَفِعًا بَعْدَ الْقَصْفِ، أَلْهَمَهُ الْمَشْهَدُ قَصِيدَةً صَارَتْ كَلِمَاتُ النَّشِيدِ الْوَطَنِيِّ. فَالْعَلَمُ هُنَا لَيْسَ قِطْعَةَ قُمَاشٍ فَحَسْبُ؛ إِنَّهُ صِلَةٌ بَيْنَ الْحَرْبِ وَالصُّمُودِ وَالْمُوسِيقَى وَالْهُوِيَّةِ وَعِلْمِ الصِّيَانَةِ.

وَتَجْعَلُ مَعْرُوضَاتُ الرِّئَاسَةِ الْقِيَادَةَ شَيْئًا مَلْمُوسًا. فَبِزَّةُ جُورْج وَاشِنْطُن الْعَسْكَرِيَّةُ تُذَكِّرُ بِقَائِدِ الْجَيْشِ الْقَارِّيِّ وَأَوَّلِ رَئِيسٍ. وَمَكْتَبُ تُومَاسْ جِيفِرْسُن الْمَحْمُولُ يَرْتَبِطُ بِصِيَاغَةِ إِعْلَانِ الِاسْتِقْلَالِ. وَتَكْشِفُ الْمَلَابِسُ وَالرَّسَائِلُ وَمَوَادُّ الْحَمَلَاتِ الِانْتِخَابِيَّةِ عَنِ الرُّؤَسَاءِ بَشَرًا يَعْمَلُونَ وَيُوَاجِهُونَ قَرَارَاتٍ صَعْبَةً.

وَتُوَسِّعُ مَجْمُوعَةُ السَّيِّدَاتِ الْأُوَلِ هَذِهِ الْقِصَّةَ. فَالْفَسَاتِينُ وَالْأَحْذِيَةُ وَالْمُقْتَنَيَاتُ الشَّخْصِيَّةُ تُوَثِّقُ الْأَزْيَاءَ وَالْمَرَاسِمَ، وَتَكْشِفُ أَيْضًا عَنْ تَغَيُّرِ تَوَقُّعَاتِ الْمُجْتَمَعِ مِنَ الْمَرْأَةِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الْعَامَّةِ. قَدْ يَكُونُ الثَّوْبُ دَلِيلًا عَلَى التِّكْنُولُوجْيَا وَالطَّبَقَةِ وَالصُّورَةِ الْعَامَّةِ وَالرَّمْزِيَّةِ السِّيَاسِيَّةِ.

تَدْعُونَا هَذِهِ الْقَاعَاتُ إِلَى النَّظَرِ فِيمَا وَرَاءَ الشُّهْرَةِ. فَالرَّمْزُ الْوَطَنِيُّ يَكْتَسِبُ مَعْنَاهُ مِمَّنْ يَحْفَظُونَهُ، وَالْمَنْصِبُ يَكْتَسِبُ مَعْنَاهُ مِنْ مَسْؤُولِيَّاتِهِ، وَالْمَلْبَسُ يُصْبِحُ وَثِيقَةً حِينَ نَسْأَلُ: مَنْ لَبِسَهُ؟ وَفِي أَيِّ مُنَاسَبَةٍ؟ وَمَاذَا كَانَ الْمُجْتَمَعُ يَنْتَظِرُ مِنْهُ؟

الصَّفْحَةُ ٨ • الدِّيمُقْرَاطِيَّةُ وَالْحُقُوقُ الْمَدَنِيَّةُ

مِنْضَدَةُ غْرِينْزْبُورُو

كَيْفَ يُحَرِّكُ النَّاسُ الْعَادِيُّونَ التَّارِيخَ

تُعَدُّ قِطْعَةٌ مِنْ مَنْضَدَةِ مَطْعَمِ مَتْجَرِ وُولْوُورْث فِي غْرِينْزْبُورُو بِوِلَايَةِ كَارُولَايْنَا الشَّمَالِيَّةِ مِنْ أَقْوَى مَعْرُوضَاتِ الْمُتْحَفِ. فِي الْأَوَّلِ مِنْ فِبْرَايِر 1960، جَلَسَ أَرْبَعَةُ طُلَّابٍ سُودٍ وَطَلَبُوا الْخِدْمَةَ فِي مَكَانٍ يَفْرِضُ الْفَصْلَ الْعُنْصُرِيَّ. رُفِضَ طَلَبُهُمْ، وَلَكِنَّهُمْ عَادُوا، وَسَاهَمَ احْتِجَاجُهُمُ الْمُنَظَّمُ فِي إِلْهَامِ اعْتِصَامَاتٍ مُمَاثِلَةٍ فِي أَنْحَاءِ الْبِلَادِ.

تَبْدُو الْمِنْضَدَةُ عَادِيَّةً، وَهُنَا تَكْمُنُ قُوَّتُهَا. فَهِيَ تُبَيِّنُ كَيْفَ عَمِلَ التَّمْيِيزُ فِي تَفَاصِيلِ الْحَيَاةِ الْيَوْمِيَّةِ، وَكَيْفَ تَحَوَّلَ مَكَانٌ مَأْلُوفٌ إِلَى مَسْرَحٍ لِلشَّجَاعَةِ الْأَخْلَاقِيَّةِ. لَمْ يَحْمِلِ الطُّلَّابُ سِلَاحًا؛ بَلْ حَمَلُوا الِاسْتِعْدَادَ وَالصَّبْرَ وَالْقَنَاعَةَ بِأَنَّ عَلَى الْأُمَّةِ أَنْ تَفِيَ بِوَعْدِ الْمُوَاطَنَةِ الْمُتَسَاوِيَةِ.

يَعْرِضُ الْمُتْحَفُ الدِّيمُقْرَاطِيَّةَ حِوَارًا غَيْرَ مُكْتَمِلٍ. فَالتَّصْوِيتُ وَالِانْتِخَابَاتُ وَالْمُوَاطَنَةُ وَحُرِّيَّةُ التَّعْبِيرِ وَمُحَاسَبَةُ الْقَادَةِ لَيْسَتْ مُصْطَلَحَاتٍ قَانُونِيَّةً فَقَطْ؛ بَلْ مُمَارَسَاتٌ تَحْتَاجُ إِلَى مُشَارَكَةٍ. وَحِفْظُ فُصُولِ الظُّلْمِ وَالصِّرَاعِ يَمْنَعُ ذَاكِرَةً مُرِيحَةً وَلَكِنْ نَاقِصَةً مِنْ أَنْ تَحُلَّ مَحَلَّ الْحَقِيقَةِ.

إِنَّ تَارِيخَ الْأَمِيرِكِيِّينَ مِنْ أَصْلٍ أَفْرِيقِيٍّ جُزْءٌ مَرْكَزِيٌّ مِنَ الْقِصَّةِ الْوَطَنِيَّةِ. وَلِذَلِكَ تَتَجَاوَزُ رِسَالَةُ الْمِنْضَدَةِ مَدِينَةً وَاحِدَةً وَسَنَةً وَاحِدَةً، وَتَسْأَلُ كُلَّ جِيلٍ: مَنْ يَنْتَمِي؟ وَمَنْ يُسْمَعُ صَوْتُهُ؟ وَأَيُّ عَمَلٍ سِلْمِيٍّ يُمْكِنُهُ أَنْ يُحَوِّلَ الْمَبْدَأَ إِلَى حَقِيقَةٍ مَعِيشَةٍ؟

الصَّفْحَةُ ٩ • الِاخْتِرَاعُ وَالْحَيَاةُ الْيَوْمِيَّةُ

الْحَرَكَةُ وَالتِّكْنُولُوجْيَا وَالْمُوسِيقَى وَالثَّقَافَةُ الشَّعْبِيَّةُ

تَتَغَيَّرُ الْأُمَّةُ حِينَ تَتَغَيَّرُ حَيَاةُ النَّاسِ

لَا تَنْقُلُ السِّكَّكُ الْحَدِيدِيَّةُ وَالسَّيَّارَاتُ وَالطَّائِرَاتُ آلَاتٍ فَحَسْبُ؛ بَلْ تَنْقُلُ الْعُمَّالَ وَالْأُسَرَ وَالطُّلَّابَ وَالْأَفْكَارَ وَالْبَضَائِعَ. لَقَدْ غَيَّرَ النَّقْلُ الْأَمَاكِنَ الَّتِي يَعِيشُ فِيهَا النَّاسُ وَيَعْمَلُونَ، وَرَبَطَ الْأَقَالِيمَ، وَشَجَّعَ السِّيَاحَةَ وَالتِّجَارَةَ، وَسَاهَمَ فِي صُنْعِ الْمُدُنِ الْحَدِيثَةِ. فَالْقِطَارُ إِنْجَازٌ هَنْدَسِيٌّ وَشَاهِدٌ عَلَى حَرَكَةِ الْبَشَرِ فِي آنٍ وَاحِدٍ.

وَيَنْطَبِقُ الْأَمْرُ نَفْسُهُ عَلَى الِاتِّصَالَاتِ وَتِكْنُولُوجْيَا الْمَنْزِلِ. قَرَّبَ الْهَاتِفُ الْمَسَافَاتِ، وَغَيَّرَ تَسْجِيلُ الصَّوْتِ طَرِيقَةَ مُشَارَكَةِ الْمُوسِيقَى، وَحَوَّلَ الْحَاسُوبُ التَّعْلِيمَ وَالْعَمَلَ وَالْعِلْمَ وَالْحَيَاةَ الشَّخْصِيَّةَ. وَالِابْتِكَارُ يَبْدَأُ مِنْ حَاجَةٍ إِنْسَانِيَّةٍ: حَلِّ مُشْكِلَةٍ، أَوْ تَوْفِيرِ وَقْتٍ، أَوِ السَّفَرِ وَالتَّوَاصُلِ وَالْإِبْدَاعِ.

وَتَحْفَظُ الْمُوسِيقَى وَالْفُنُونُ التَّارِيخَ الْوِجْدَانِيَّ. فَالْجَازُ وَالْبْلُوزُ وَالْغُوسْبِلُ وَالرُّوكُ وَالسِّينَمَا وَالْإِذَاعَةُ تُعَبِّرُ عَنِ الْفَرَحِ وَالْحُزْنِ وَالْإِيمَانِ وَالِاحْتِجَاجِ وَالْأَمَلِ، وَتَكْشِفُ عَنِ التَّبَادُلِ بَيْنَ تَقَالِيدَ أَفْرِيقِيَّةٍ وَأُورُوبِّيَّةٍ وَأَصْلِيَّةٍ وَكَارِيبِيَّةٍ وَمُهَاجِرَةٍ. وَيَرْبِطُ حِذَاءُ دُورُوثِي الْيَاقُوتِيُّ مِنْ فِيلْمِ «سَاحِرِ أُوز» أَجْيَالًا مِنَ الْمُشَاهِدِينَ بِذَاكِرَةٍ مُشْتَرَكَةٍ.

وَلِلْغِذَاءِ وَأَدَوَاتِ الْمَنْزِلِ الْقِيمَةُ نَفْسُهَا. فَالْعُبْوَةُ تُوَثِّقُ الْإِعْلَانَ وَثَقَافَةَ الِاسْتِهْلَاكِ، وَالثَّلَّاجَةُ تَكْشِفُ تَغَيُّرَ حِفْظِ الطَّعَامِ، وَالْمَائِدَةُ تَحْمِلُ عَادَاتِ الْأُسْرَةِ. إِنَّ الْحَيَاةَ الْيَوْمِيَّةَ لَيْسَتْ هَامِشًا فِي التَّارِيخِ؛ بَلْ هِيَ مِنْ أَغْنَى أَرْشِيفَاتِهِ.

الصَّفْحَةُ ١٠ • دَلِيلُ الزَّائِرِ وَأَسْئِلَةُ التَّأَمُّلِ

أَصْوَاتٌ كَثِيرَةٌ، أُمَّةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ

اِخْتَرْ مَوْضُوعًا، وَاتْبَعْ سُؤَالًا، وَتَذَكَّرْ شَيْئًا وَاحِدًا

يَسْتَكْشِفُ مَعْرِضُ «أَصْوَاتٌ كَثِيرَةٌ، أُمَّةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ» كَيْفَ شَكَّلَتِ الشُّعُوبُ وَالثَّقَافَاتُ الْمُخْتَلِفَةُ الْحَيَاةَ فِي الْوِلَايَاتِ الْمُتَّحِدَةِ. فَالسُّكَّانُ الْأَصْلِيُّونَ، وَالْأَفَارِقَةُ الْمُسْتَعْبَدُونَ وَذُرِّيَّاتُهُمْ، وَالْمُهَاجِرُونَ، وَاللَّاجِئُونَ، وَالْعُمَّالُ، وَالْفَلَّاحُونَ، وَالْفَنَّانُونَ، وَالْأُسَرُ لَيْسُوا قِصَصًا جَانِبِيَّةً؛ بَلْ صَنَعَتْ لِقَاءَاتُهُمْ هُوِيَّةً وَطَنِيَّةً مَا زَالَتْ تَتَطَوَّرُ.

لَا تَحْتَاجُ الزِّيَارَةُ النَّاجِحَةُ إِلَى رُؤْيَةِ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ. اِخْتَرْ مَوْضُوعًا: فَلِتَارِيخِ الرِّئَاسَةِ ابْدَأْ بِبِزَّةِ وَاشِنْطُن وَمَكْتَبِ جِيفِرْسُن؛ وَلِلْحُقُوقِ الْمَدَنِيَّةِ ابْدَأْ بِمِنْضَدَةِ غْرِينْزْبُورُو؛ وَلِلِابْتِكَارِ اتْبَعْ قِصَصَ النَّقْلِ وَالِاتِّصَالَاتِ وَالصِّنَاعَةِ. وَقَدْ تَكُونُ أَفْضَلُ زِيَارَةٍ هِيَ الَّتِي يَبْقَى مِنْهَا شَيْءٌ وَاحِدٌ فِي الذَّاكِرَةِ.

أَسْئِلَةٌ لِلْحِوَارِ: أَيُّ شَيْءٍ تَارِيخِيٍّ تَوَدُّ رُؤْيَتَهُ؟ لِمَاذَا تَتَجَاوَزُ أَهَمِّيَّةُ رَايَةِ النُّجُومِ مَظْهَرَهَا؟ مَاذَا تُعَلِّمُنَا مَنْضَدَةُ طَعَامٍ عَنِ الْمُوَاطَنَةِ؟ أَيُّ اخْتِرَاعٍ غَيَّرَ حَيَاتَكَ أَكْثَرَ؟ كَيْفَ تَحْفَظُ الْمُوسِيقَى ذَاكِرَةَ الْمُجْتَمَعِ؟ وَأَيُّ شَيْءٍ مِنْ تُرَاثِ أُسْرَتِكَ يَسْتَحِقُّ الْحِفْظَ؟

مَعْلُومَاتُ الزِّيَارَةِ الْمُحَقَّقَةُ لِهَذَا الْعَدَدِ: يَقَعُ الْمُتْحَفُ فِي 1300 كُونْسْتِتُوشِن أَفِنْيُو شَمَالَ غَرْبِيِّ وَاشِنْطُن، بَيْنَ الشَّارِعَيْنِ 12 وَ14. وَيَفْتَحُ عَادَةً يَوْمِيًّا مِنَ السَّاعَةِ 10 صَبَاحًا إِلَى 5:30 مَسَاءً، مَا عَدَا 25 دِيسَمْبَر. الدُّخُولُ مَجَّانِيٌّ، وَلَا تُطْلَبُ تَصَارِيحُ عَادَةً. يُرْجَى مُرَاجَعَةُ americanhistory.si.edu/visit قَبْلَ السَّفَرِ.

اِكْتَشِفْ وَاشِنْطُنَ مَعَ زُهَيْرِي تُورْز: جَوَلَاتٌ مَعْرِفِيَّةٌ تَرْبِطُ الْمَتَاحِفَ وَالْمَعَالِمَ وَالْمُجْتَمَعَاتِ بِالْقِصَصِ الْكَامِنَةِ وَرَاءَهَا. لِلْحَجْزِ وَالْمَعْلُومَاتِ: www.zohery.com | +1-202-437-1295. وَرَاءَ كُلِّ إِنْجَازٍ قِصَّةٌ تَسْتَحِقُّ أَنْ تُرْوَى.

Mummies Science Belief and Daily Life

The Digital Magazine and Archive of The Dr. Ali Zohery Podcast

English Edition Followed by Arabic

Published 24 September 2026

Prepared and presented by Dr. Ali Zohery, Ph.D.

Episode length 20 minutes 57 seconds

Zohery Tours www.zohery.com +1-202-437-1295

Issue 22 Natural History Museum and Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt

Mummies Science Belief and Daily Life

The Digital Magazine and Archive of The Dr. Ali Zohery Podcast

English Edition Followed by Arabic

Published 24 September 2026

Prepared and presented by Dr. Ali Zohery, Ph.D.

Episode length 20 minutes 57 seconds

Zohery Tours www.zohery.com +1-202-437-1295

Issue Overview

Issue 22 visits the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC and then concentrates on Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt, the museum’s permanent exhibition about mummification, burial, belief, and the afterlife. The episode connects the broad story of Earth and life with the intimate story of people who lived along the Nile more than two thousand years ago.

The Egyptian gallery is not simply a display of preserved bodies. It is a scientific and cultural study of ancient Egyptian religion, medicine, art, writing, craftsmanship, and daily life. Human and animal mummies, coffins, pottery, jewelry, tools, amulets, and funerary objects reveal how a civilization understood death and sought continuity beyond it.

History Preserved with Respect

A mummy was once a living person with a name, family, community, work, hopes, and fears. Modern museums therefore have a responsibility to interpret human remains with dignity. Scientific examination can reveal health and history, but education must preserve respect for the individual whose body survived across centuries.

The National Museum of Natural History

A Smithsonian Landmark

The National Museum of Natural History opened on 17 March 1910 as the new United States National Museum. Its neoclassical building stands at 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW on the National Mall. The museum grew from Smithsonian collections once housed in the Castle and supports research in biology, geology, paleontology, anthropology, and archaeology.

The museum holds the world’s largest natural history collection and represents about 90 percent of the Smithsonian’s collections. Scientists use it to study biodiversity, evolution, climate, human cultures, minerals, fossils, and environmental change.

What Visitors Can Explore

Public galleries include Fossils Deep Time, Human Origins, the Sant Ocean Hall, Mammals, Geology Gems and Minerals, the Hope Diamond, the Butterfly Pavilion, cultural exhibitions, and the Egyptian mummies gallery.

Henry, the African bush elephant in the central rotunda, is among the museum’s best-known sights. Dinosaurs, marine specimens, and minerals introduce visitors to evolution, ocean diversity, and the forces that shape Earth. Original specimens appear beside scientific stories, digital interpretation, and hands-on learning.

Eternal Life on the Second Floor

Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt is on the second floor. Its official page describes three human and sixteen animal mummies, along with pottery, jewelry, tools, shabtis, and other objects excavated from tombs. The exhibition explains Egyptian practices surrounding preservation, burial, offerings, and the next world.

Current Visitor Notice

Parts of the exhibition and nearby spaces are temporarily closed through spring 2027. Visitors should check the official website and map before traveling.

Mummification and the Ancient Egyptian Afterlife

Why the Body Was Preserved

Ancient Egyptians did not regard death as complete disappearance. They believed that a person had physical and spiritual elements and that preserving the body supported continued existence in the afterlife. Burial preparations supplied the deceased with prayers, symbols, food offerings, tools, clothing, and protective objects thought necessary for the eternal journey.

Mummification was therefore more than a method of preventing decay. It united religion, anatomical knowledge, chemistry, craftsmanship, ritual, and art. Practices changed across more than three millennia and varied according to period, location, resources, and social status, so there was never one identical procedure for every burial.

The Main Stages

The body was washed and ritually purified.

Internal organs that decayed quickly were removed and treated; the heart was often left because it was associated with thought character and judgment.

Natron, a naturally occurring mixture of salts, dried the body by drawing out moisture.

Oils resins and other substances were applied to help preserve and prepare the body.

The body was wrapped in layers of linen, sometimes with amulets placed between the layers for protection.

The mummy was placed in one or more coffins and buried with inscriptions offerings and funerary equipment.

A high-status mummification and burial process is often described as lasting about seventy days. The actual treatment depended on the deceased person’s time, community, and means. Museum interpretation helps visitors distinguish evidence from the simplified formulas repeated in popular culture.

The Heart and Judgment

Ancient Egyptians considered the heart the center of memory, character, intelligence, and moral awareness. In funerary belief it could be weighed against the feather of Ma’at, which represented truth and justice. This helps explain why the heart was commonly preserved within the body and why heart scarabs and protective texts could form part of burial equipment.

Science and Daily Life in Ancient Egypt

What Scientists Learn

A mummy can provide evidence about age, biological sex, dental health, disease, diet, injuries, physical activity, materials used in preservation, and the social world of the deceased. X-rays and computed tomography allow researchers to examine bones, teeth, tissues, wrappings, and hidden objects without physically unwrapping or cutting the mummy. Archaeology thus works with medicine, chemistry, imaging science, and biological anthropology.

Animal Mummies

Animals played practical, symbolic, and religious roles in Egypt. Cats were associated with Bastet, ibises and baboons with Thoth, falcons with Horus, and crocodiles with Sobek. Animals might be companions, sacred representatives, temple offerings, food for the deceased, or participants in ritual. CT scans can reveal what a wrapped bundle contains.

Coffins Masks Amulets and Shabtis

A coffin protected the body and could record the deceased person’s name, titles, prayers, divine images, and protective symbols. A funerary mask preserved an idealized identity. Amulets carried protection, while shabti figures represented workers expected to perform tasks in the afterlife.

Writing and the Survival of Identity

Hieroglyphic and hieratic texts preserved names, offerings, prayers, ritual formulas, and instructions. For ancient Egyptians, a person’s name was an essential part of identity, and continued remembrance supported survival. Text on coffins, tomb walls, papyri, stelae, and amulets allows modern readers to recover individual lives as well as wider religious traditions.

Beyond Tombs and Kings

Pottery, jewelry, tools, cosmetics containers, textiles, and household objects illuminate food, work, dress, beauty, family, and trade. Ancient Egypt was not only the civilization of pyramids, temples, kings, and tombs. It was also the civilization of farmers, craftspeople, scribes, physicians, soldiers, merchants, mothers, and children.

Meaning Questions and Visitor Information

Lessons from the Episode

Mummies connect religious belief with medicine chemistry art and craftsmanship.

Modern imaging can reveal hidden evidence while reducing physical disturbance to human remains.

Animal mummies record relationships among religion economy nature and daily life.

Names and written prayers helped ancient Egyptians preserve identity and memory.

Human remains should be studied and displayed with dignity because they belonged to real people.

Questions and Answers

Why did Egyptians preserve bodies? They believed the body remained important to the person’s continued existence and identity in the afterlife.

How long could mummification take? A complete elite process is often described as lasting about seventy days.

Why was the heart important? It was associated with memory character intelligence and judgment and was often left in the body.

What can a CT scan reveal? It can show bones teeth tissues injuries objects and wrapping details without unwrapping the mummy.

Were only kings mummified? No. Mummification existed at different levels for people of varied status, and animals were mummified for several purposes.

Plan Your Visit

Address 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW Washington DC 20560.

Admission is free and general museum passes are not required.

The museum is normally open daily except December 25; confirm current hours before visiting.

Eternal Life in Ancient Egypt is on the second floor, but parts are temporarily closed through spring 2027.

Check naturalhistory.si.edu for current access information maps exhibitions and virtual tours.

Discover Washington with Zohery Tours

Zohery Tours helps visitors discover Washington DC through its monuments, museums, memorials, neighborhoods, and historical stories. For schedules and reservations, visit www.zohery.com or call +1-202-437-1295.

الْعَدَدُ الثَّانِي وَالْعِشْرُونَ مُتْحَفُ التَّارِيخِ الطَّبِيعِيِّ وَالْحَيَاةُ الْأَبَدِيَّةُ فِي مِصْرَ الْقَدِيمَةِ

الْمُومْيَاوَاتُ وَالْعِلْمُ وَالْعَقِيدَةُ وَالْحَيَاةُ الْيَوْمِيَّةُ

الْمَجَلَّةُ الرَّقْمِيَّةُ وَأَرْشِيفُ بُودْكَاسْتِ الدُّكْتُورِ عَلِي الزُّهَيْرِي

النَّصُّ الْإِنْجِلِيزِيُّ أَوَّلًا ثُمَّ النَّصُّ الْعَرَبِيُّ

إِعْدَادٌ وَتَقْدِيمٌ Dr. Ali Zohery, Ph.D.

تَارِيخُ النَّشْرِ ٢٤ سِبْتَمْبَرَ ٢٠٢٦

مُدَّةُ الْحَلْقَةِ ٢٠ دَقِيقَةً وَ٥٧ ثَانِيَةً

زُهَيْرِي تُورْز www.zohery.com +1-202-437-1295

مُلَخَّصُ الْعَدَدِ

يَزُورُ الْعَدَدُ الثَّانِي وَالْعِشْرُونَ الْمُتْحَفَ الْوَطَنِيَّ لِلتَّارِيخِ الطَّبِيعِيِّ التَّابِعَ لِمُؤَسَّسَةِ سْمِيثْسُونِيَان فِي وَاشِنْطُن، ثُمَّ يُرَكِّزُ عَلَى مَعْرِضِ الْحَيَاةِ الْأَبَدِيَّةِ فِي مِصْرَ الْقَدِيمَةِ. وَتَرْبِطُ الْحَلْقَةُ بَيْنَ قِصَّةِ الْأَرْضِ وَالْحَيَاةِ، وَقِصَصِ أُنَاسٍ عَاشُوا عَلَى ضِفَافِ النِّيلِ قَبْلَ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ أَلْفَيْ عَامٍ.

لَيْسَ الْمَعْرِضُ مُجَرَّدَ عَرْضٍ لِأَجْسَادٍ مَحْفُوظَةٍ، بَلْ دِرَاسَةٌ عِلْمِيَّةٌ وَثَقَافِيَّةٌ لِلدِّينِ وَالطِّبِّ وَالْفَنِّ وَالْكِتَابَةِ وَالْحِرَفِ وَالْحَيَاةِ الْيَوْمِيَّةِ. وَتَكْشِفُ الْمُومْيَاوَاتُ وَالتَّوَابِيتُ وَالْفَخَّارُ وَالْحُلِيُّ وَالْأَدَوَاتُ وَالتَّمَائِمُ كَيْفَ فَهِمَ الْمِصْرِيُّونَ الْمَوْتَ وَطَلَبُوا الِاسْتِمْرَارَ بَعْدَهُ.

تَارِيخٌ مَحْفُوظٌ بِاحْتِرَامٍ

كَانَتِ الْمُومْيَاءُ إِنْسَانًا حَيًّا لَهُ اسْمٌ وَأُسْرَةٌ وَمُجْتَمَعٌ وَعَمَلٌ وَآمَالٌ وَمَخَاوِفُ. وَلِذَلِكَ يَجِبُ أَنْ تُعْرَضَ الرُّفَاتُ الْبَشَرِيَّةُ وَتُدْرَسَ بِكَرَامَةٍ، وَأَنْ يَجْمَعَ الْبَحْثُ الْعِلْمِيُّ بَيْنَ الْمَعْرِفَةِ وَاحْتِرَامِ الشَّخْصِ الَّذِي بَقِيَ جَسَدُهُ عَبْرَ الْقُرُونِ.

الْمُتْحَفُ وَقِصَّةُ الْعَالَمِ الطَّبِيعِيِّ

مَعْلَمٌ مِنْ مَعَالِمِ سْمِيثْسُونِيَان

افْتُتِحَ الْمُتْحَفُ الْوَطَنِيُّ لِلتَّارِيخِ الطَّبِيعِيِّ لِلْجُمْهُورِ فِي ١٧ مَارِسَ ١٩١٠ بِاسْمِ الْمُتْحَفِ الْوَطَنِيِّ الْجَدِيدِ لِلْوِلَايَاتِ الْمُتَّحِدَةِ. وَيَقَعُ مَبْنَاهُ ذُو الطِّرَازِ الْكِلَاسِيكِيِّ الْجَدِيدِ عِنْدَ تَقَاطُعِ الشَّارِعِ الْعَاشِرِ وَشَارِعِ الدُّسْتُورِ، عَلَى الْمُتَنَزَّهِ الْوَطَنِيِّ فِي وَاشِنْطُن.

يَحْفَظُ الْمُتْحَفُ أَكْبَرَ مَجْمُوعَةٍ لِلتَّارِيخِ الطَّبِيعِيِّ فِي الْعَالَمِ، وَتُمَثِّلُ مُقْتَنَيَاتُهُ نَحْوَ تِسْعِينَ فِي الْمِئَةِ مِنْ مَجْمُوعَاتِ سْمِيثْسُونِيَان. وَيَسْتَخْدِمُ الْعُلَمَاءُ هَذِهِ الْمُقْتَنَيَاتِ لِدِرَاسَةِ التَّنَوُّعِ الْحَيَوِيِّ وَالتَّطَوُّرِ وَالْمُنَاخِ وَالثَّقَافَاتِ وَالْمَعَادِنِ وَالْحَفْرِيَّاتِ.

مَا الَّذِي يَرَاهُ الزَّائِرُ

تَشْمَلُ الْقَاعَاتُ الْعَامَّةُ قَاعَةَ الْحَفْرِيَّاتِ وَالزَّمَنِ السَّحِيقِ، وَقَاعَةَ أُصُولِ الْإِنْسَانِ، وَقَاعَةَ الْمُحِيطَاتِ، وَقَاعَةَ الثَّدْيِيَّاتِ، وَقَاعَةَ الْجِيُولُوجِيَا وَالْأَحْجَارِ الْكَرِيمَةِ وَالْمَعَادِنِ، وَمَاسَةَ هُوب، وَالْفَرَاشَاتِ، وَالْمَعَارِضَ الثَّقَافِيَّةَ، وَقَاعَةَ الْمُومْيَاوَاتِ الْمِصْرِيَّةِ.

يُعَدُّ هِنْرِي، فِيلُ الْأَدْغَالِ الْأَفْرِيقِيُّ فِي الْقَاعَةِ الْمَرْكَزِيَّةِ، مِنْ أَشْهَرِ مَعَالِمِ الْمُتْحَفِ. وَتَعْرِضُ قَاعَاتُ الدِّينَاصُورَاتِ وَالْبِحَارِ وَالْمَعَادِنِ شَوَاهِدَ أَصْلِيَّةً، مَعَ قِصَصٍ عِلْمِيَّةٍ وَتَفْسِيرٍ رَقْمِيٍّ وَتَجَارِبَ تَعْلِيمِيَّةٍ.

الْحَيَاةُ الْأَبَدِيَّةُ فِي الطَّابِقِ الثَّانِي

يَقَعُ مَعْرِضُ الْحَيَاةِ الْأَبَدِيَّةِ فِي مِصْرَ الْقَدِيمَةِ فِي الطَّابِقِ الثَّانِي. وَتَذْكُرُ صَفْحَتُهُ الرَّسْمِيَّةُ ثَلَاثَ مُومْيَاوَاتٍ بَشَرِيَّةً وَسِتَّ عَشْرَةَ مُومْيَاءً حَيَوَانِيَّةً، إِلَى جَانِبِ الْأَوَانِي وَالْحُلِيِّ وَالْأَدَوَاتِ وَتَمَاثِيلِ الشَّوَابْتِي وَمُقْتَنَيَاتِ الْمَقَابِرِ.

تَنْبِيهٌ حَالِيٌّ لِلزَّائِرِ

أَجْزَاءٌ مِنَ الْمَعْرِضِ وَالْمَسَاحَاتِ الْمُحِيطَةِ بِهِ مُغْلَقَةٌ مُؤَقَّتًا حَتَّى رَبِيعِ ٢٠٢٧ بِسَبَبِ تَغْيِيرَاتٍ فِي الْمَعَارِضِ الْقَرِيبَةِ. وَلِذَلِكَ يُنْصَحُ بِمُرَاجَعَةِ الْمَوْقِعِ وَالْخَرِيطَةِ الرَّسْمِيَّيْنِ قَبْلَ الزِّيَارَةِ.

التَّحْنِيطُ وَالْحَيَاةُ الْأُخْرَى عِنْدَ الْمِصْرِيِّينَ الْقُدَمَاءِ

لِمَاذَا حُفِظَ الْجَسَدُ

لَمْ يَعُدَّ الْمِصْرِيُّونَ الْقُدَمَاءُ الْمَوْتَ اخْتِفَاءً كَامِلًا، بَلِ اعْتَقَدُوا أَنَّ لِلْإِنْسَانِ عَنَاصِرَ جَسَدِيَّةً وَرُوحِيَّةً، وَأَنَّ حِفْظَ الْجَسَدِ يُسَاعِدُ عَلَى اسْتِمْرَارِ الْوُجُودِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الْأُخْرَى. وَلِذَلِكَ زُوِّدَ الْمُتَوَفَّى بِالدُّعَاءِ وَالرُّمُوزِ وَالطَّعَامِ وَالْأَدَوَاتِ وَالْمَلَابِسِ وَالْأَشْيَاءِ الْوَاقِيَةِ.

لَمْ يَكُنِ التَّحْنِيطُ وَسِيلَةً لِمَنْعِ التَّحَلُّلِ فَقَطْ، بَلْ جَمَعَ بَيْنَ الدِّينِ وَمَعْرِفَةِ الْجَسَدِ وَالْكِيمْيَاءِ وَالْحِرَفِ وَالطُّقُوسِ وَالْفَنِّ. وَتَغَيَّرَتْ أَسَالِيبُهُ عَبْرَ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ ثَلَاثَةِ آلَافِ عَامٍ، وَاخْتَلَفَتْ بِاخْتِلَافِ الزَّمَنِ وَالْمَكَانِ وَالْمَوَارِدِ وَالْمَكَانَةِ الِاجْتِمَاعِيَّةِ.

الْمَرَاحِلُ الرَّئِيسِيَّةُ

غُسِلَ الْجَسَدُ وَطُهِّرَ طَقْسِيًّا.

أُزِيلَتْ بَعْضُ الْأَعْضَاءِ وَعُولِجَتْ، وَتُرِكَ الْقَلْبُ غَالِبًا لِأَهَمِّيَّتِهِ فِي الشَّخْصِيَّةِ وَالْحِسَابِ.

جُفِّفَ الْجَسَدُ بِالنَّطْرُونِ، وَهُوَ مَزِيجٌ طَبِيعِيٌّ مِنَ الْأَمْلَاحِ يَمْتَصُّ الرُّطُوبَةَ.

عُولِجَ الْجَسَدُ بِالزُّيُوتِ وَالرَّاتِنْجَاتِ وَمَوَادَّ أُخْرَى.

لُفَّ الْجَسَدُ بِطَبَقَاتٍ مِنَ الْكَتَّانِ، وَوُضِعَتْ أَحْيَانًا تَمَائِمُ وَاقِيَةٌ بَيْنَ الطَّبَقَاتِ.

وُضِعَتِ الْمُومْيَاءُ فِي تَابُوتٍ أَوْ أَكْثَرَ، مَعَ النُّقُوشِ وَالْقَرَابِينِ وَالْأَدَوَاتِ الْجَنَائِزِيَّةِ.

تَسْتَغْرِقُ عَمَلِيَّةُ التَّحْنِيطِ وَالدَّفْنِ الْكَبِيرَةُ نَحْوَ سَبْعِينَ يَوْمًا فِي الْوَصْفِ الشَّائِعِ، لَكِنَّ الْمُعَالَجَةَ الْفِعْلِيَّةَ اخْتَلَفَتْ حَسَبَ الْعَصْرِ وَالْمُجْتَمَعِ وَإِمْكَانَاتِ الْمُتَوَفَّى.

الْقَلْبُ وَالْحِسَابُ

عَدَّ الْمِصْرِيُّونَ الْقَلْبَ مَرْكَزَ الذَّاكِرَةِ وَالشَّخْصِيَّةِ وَالذَّكَاءِ وَالضَّمِيرِ. وَفِي الْعَقِيدَةِ الْجَنَائِزِيَّةِ كَانَ يُوزَنُ أَمَامَ رِيشَةِ مَاعَات، رَمْزِ الْحَقِّ وَالْعَدْلِ؛ وَلِذَلِكَ تُرِكَ غَالِبًا دَاخِلَ الْجَسَدِ.

الْعِلْمُ وَالْحَيَوَانَاتُ وَالتَّوَابِيتُ وَالْكِتَابَةُ

مَا الَّذِي يَتَعَلَّمُهُ الْعُلَمَاءُ

تُقَدِّمُ الْمُومْيَاءُ أَدِلَّةً عَنِ الْعُمْرِ وَالصِّحَّةِ وَالْأَسْنَانِ وَالْأَمْرَاضِ وَالْغِذَاءِ وَالْإِصَابَاتِ وَالنَّشَاطِ الْبَدَنِيِّ وَمَوَادِّ الْحِفْظِ وَالْمُجْتَمَعِ. وَتَسْمَحُ الْأَشِعَّةُ السِّينِيَّةُ وَالْأَشِعَّةُ الْمَقْطَعِيَّةُ بِرُؤْيَةِ الْعِظَامِ وَالْأَسْنَانِ وَالْأَنْسِجَةِ وَالْأَشْيَاءِ الْمَخْفِيَّةِ دُونَ فَكِّ اللَّفَائِفِ أَوْ قَطْعِ الْجَسَدِ.

الْمُومْيَاوَاتُ الْحَيَوَانِيَّةُ

أَدَّتِ الْحَيَوَانَاتُ أَدْوَارًا عَمَلِيَّةً وَرَمْزِيَّةً وَدِينِيَّةً. ارْتَبَطَتِ الْقِطَطُ بِبَاسْتِت، وَأَبُو مَنْجَلٍ وَالْقِرَدَةُ بِتَحُوت، وَالصُّقُورُ بِحُورُس، وَالتَّمَاسِيحُ بِسُوبِك. وَقَدْ يَكُونُ الْحَيَوَانُ رَفِيقًا مَحْبُوبًا، أَوْ رَمْزًا مُقَدَّسًا، أَوْ قُرْبَانًا لِلْمَعْبَدِ، أَوْ طَعَامًا لِلْمُتَوَفَّى، أَوْ جُزْءًا مِنْ طَقْسٍ دِينِيٍّ.

التَّوَابِيتُ وَالْأَقْنِعَةُ وَالتَّمَائِمُ وَالشَّوَابْتِي

حَمَى التَّابُوتُ الْجَسَدَ، وَحَمَلَ أَحْيَانًا اسْمَ الْمُتَوَفَّى وَأَلْقَابَهُ وَأُسْرَتَهُ وَالدُّعَاءَ وَصُوَرَ الْآلِهَةِ وَالرُّمُوزَ الْوَاقِيَةَ. وَحَفِظَ الْقِنَاعُ الْجَنَائِزِيُّ هُوِيَّةً مِثَالِيَّةً لِلشَّخْصِ. وَحَمَلَتِ التَّمَائِمُ مَعَانِيَ الْحِمَايَةِ، وَمَثَّلَتْ تَمَاثِيلُ الشَّوَابْتِي عُمَّالًا يُؤَدُّونَ الْمَهَامَّ عَنِ الْمُتَوَفَّى فِي الْحَيَاةِ الْأُخْرَى.

الْكِتَابَةُ وَبَقَاءُ الْهُوِيَّةِ

حَفِظَتِ النُّصُوصُ الْهِيرُوغْلِيفِيَّةُ وَالْهِيرَاطِيقِيَّةُ الْأَسْمَاءَ وَالْقَرَابِينَ وَالْأَدْعِيَةَ وَالصِّيَغَ الطَّقْسِيَّةَ. وَكَانَ الِاسْمُ جُزْءًا أَسَاسِيًّا مِنَ الْهُوِيَّةِ، وَدَعَمَ اسْتِمْرَارُ ذِكْرِهِ بَقَاءَ الشَّخْصِ. وَتُسَاعِدُ نُقُوشُ التَّوَابِيتِ وَجُدْرَانِ الْمَقَابِرِ وَالْبَرْدِيَّاتِ وَاللَّوْحَاتِ الْبَاحِثِينَ عَلَى اسْتِعَادَةِ حَيَاةِ الْأَفْرَادِ وَالْعَقَائِدِ.

أَبْعَدُ مِنَ الْمَقَابِرِ وَالْمُلُوكِ

تَكْشِفُ الْأَوَانِي وَالْحُلِيُّ وَالْأَدَوَاتُ وَمَسَاحِيقُ التَّجْمِيلِ وَالْمَنْسُوجَاتُ عَنِ الطَّعَامِ وَالْعَمَلِ وَالْمَلْبَسِ وَالْأُسْرَةِ وَالتِّجَارَةِ. فَلَمْ تَكُنْ مِصْرُ الْقَدِيمَةُ حَضَارَةَ الْأَهْرَامِ وَالْمَعَابِدِ وَالْمُلُوكِ فَقَطْ، بَلْ حَضَارَةَ الْفَلَّاحِينَ وَالصُّنَّاعِ وَالْكُتَّابِ وَالْأَطِبَّاءِ وَالْجُنُودِ وَالتُّجَّارِ وَالْأُمَّهَاتِ وَالْأَطْفَالِ.

الدَّلَالَاتُ وَالْأَسْئِلَةُ وَمَعْلُومَاتُ الزِّيَارَةِ

دُرُوسٌ مِنَ الْحَلْقَةِ

يَرْبِطُ التَّحْنِيطُ بَيْنَ الْعَقِيدَةِ وَالطِّبِّ وَالْكِيمْيَاءِ وَالْفَنِّ وَالْحِرَفِ.

تَكْشِفُ الْأَشِعَّةُ الْحَدِيثَةُ أَدِلَّةً مَخْفِيَّةً مَعَ تَقْلِيلِ الْمَسَاسِ بِالرُّفَاتِ الْبَشَرِيَّةِ.

تَسْجِلُ الْمُومْيَاوَاتُ الْحَيَوَانِيَّةُ الْعَلَاقَةَ بَيْنَ الدِّينِ وَالطَّبِيعَةِ وَالِاقْتِصَادِ وَالْحَيَاةِ الْيَوْمِيَّةِ.

يَجِبُ أَنْ تُدْرَسَ الرُّفَاتُ الْبَشَرِيَّةُ وَتُعْرَضَ بِكَرَامَةٍ لِأَنَّهَا كَانَتْ لِأُنَاسٍ حَقِيقِيِّينَ.

أَسْئِلَةٌ وَأَجْوِبَةٌ

لِمَاذَا حَفِظَ الْمِصْرِيُّونَ الْأَجْسَادَ؟ لِاعْتِقَادِهِمْ أَنَّ الْجَسَدَ يَظَلُّ مُهِمًّا لِوُجُودِ الشَّخْصِ وَهُوِيَّتِهِ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الْأُخْرَى.

كَمْ كَانَ التَّحْنِيطُ يَسْتَغْرِقُ؟ يُوصَفُ التَّحْنِيطُ الْكَبِيرُ غَالِبًا بِأَنَّهُ اسْتَغْرَقَ نَحْوَ سَبْعِينَ يَوْمًا.

لِمَاذَا كَانَ الْقَلْبُ مُهِمًّا؟ لِارْتِبَاطِهِ بِالذَّاكِرَةِ وَالشَّخْصِيَّةِ وَالذَّكَاءِ وَالْحِسَابِ.

مَاذَا تَكْشِفُ الْأَشِعَّةُ الْمَقْطَعِيَّةُ؟ الْعِظَامَ وَالْأَسْنَانَ وَالْأَنْسِجَةَ وَالْإِصَابَاتِ وَالْأَشْيَاءَ الْمَخْفِيَّةَ دُونَ فَكِّ اللَّفَائِفِ.

مَعْلُومَاتُ الزِّيَارَةِ

الْعُنْوَانُ 10th Street and Constitution Avenue NW Washington DC 20560.

الدُّخُولُ مَجَّانِيٌّ، وَلَا تُطْلَبُ تَذَاكِرُ عَامَّةٌ لِلْمُتْحَفِ.

يَقَعُ مَعْرِضُ الْحَيَاةِ الْأَبَدِيَّةِ فِي الطَّابِقِ الثَّانِي، وَلَكِنَّ بَعْضَ أَجْزَائِهِ مُغْلَقٌ مُؤَقَّتًا حَتَّى رَبِيعِ ٢٠٢٧.

رَاجِعُوا naturalhistory.si.edu لِلسَّاعَاتِ وَالْخَرَائِطِ وَإِتَاحَةِ الْمَعَارِضِ وَالْجَوْلَاتِ الِافْتِرَاضِيَّةِ.

زُورُوا وَاشِنْطُن مَعَ زُهَيْرِي تُورْز

تُسَاعِدُ زُهَيْرِي تُورْز زُوَّارَ وَاشِنْطُن عَلَى اكْتِشَافِ النُّصُبِ وَالْمَتَاحِفِ وَالْمَعَالِمِ وَالْأَحْيَاءِ وَقِصَصِهَا التَّارِيخِيَّةِ. لِلْمَوَاعِيدِ وَالْحَجْزِ، زُورُوا www.zohery.com، أَوِ اسْتَخْدِمُوا رَقْمَ الِاتِّصَالِ الْمُوَضَّحَ فِي بِدَايَةِ الْعَدَدِ.

History Memory Culture Struggle Achievement and Hope

The Digital Magazine and Archive of The Dr. Ali Zohery Podcast

English Edition Followed by Arabic

Published 23 September 2026

Prepared and presented by Dr. Ali Zohery, Ph.D.

Episode length 28 minutes 36 seconds

Zohery Tours www.zohery.com +1-202-437-1295

Issue 21 National Museum of African American History and Culture

History Memory Culture Struggle Achievement and Hope

The Digital Magazine and Archive of The Dr. Ali Zohery Podcast

English Edition Followed by Arabic

Published 23 September 2026

Prepared and presented by Dr. Ali Zohery, Ph.D.

Episode length 28 minutes 36 seconds

Zohery Tours www.zohery.com +1-202-437-1295

Issue Overview

Issue 21 visits the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture at 1400 Constitution Avenue NW on the National Mall in Washington DC. The museum brings together history, memory, culture, struggle, achievement, and hope. It shows that African American history is not separate from American history. It is essential to understanding the nation and its influence on the world.

The museum is the only national museum devoted exclusively to documenting African American life, history, and culture. Through artifacts, documents, photographs, personal testimony, art, music, and interactive interpretation, it presents difficult truths about slavery and racial injustice while honoring resistance, faith, family, service, creativity, leadership, and accomplishment.

A National Classroom

The museum invites every visitor to consider the meaning of freedom, citizenship, equality, democracy, and human dignity. Its purpose is not to divide people through the past, but to help them understand one another through honest history and to imagine a more just future.

A Century in the Making and a Landmark Design

From an Early Vision to a National Museum

The effort to create a national memorial to African American achievement began in the early twentieth century. In 1915, African American Civil War veterans and other advocates organized for national recognition. Congress authorized a memorial commission in 1929, but the project did not secure funding during the Great Depression. Citizens and community leaders continued the campaign for decades.

Congress established the museum by law on 16 December 2003. It opened on 24 September 2016 as the nineteenth Smithsonian museum, with President Barack Obama leading the dedication. The institution began without an inherited collection and has since assembled more than 45,000 objects.

Architecture with Meaning

The international design competition was won in 2009 by the Freelon Adjaye Bond SmithGroup team. David Adjaye served as lead designer and Phil Freelon as lead architect. The nearly 400,000-square-foot building occupies a five-acre site beside the Washington Monument. About 60 percent of its space lies below ground, allowing extensive galleries while respecting the National Mall skyline.

The three-tiered corona is wrapped in 3,600 bronze-colored cast-aluminum panels. Its form draws inspiration from a crown associated with Yoruban art and from ironwork created by enslaved and free African American craftspeople. The porch recalls a place where families and communities gather, preserve memories, and tell stories.

The Meaning of the Location

Its prominent place on the National Mall places African American history beside the monuments and institutions that represent the American nation. The location expresses a central message: the stories of slavery, emancipation, Reconstruction, segregation, civil rights, military service, science, religion, business, music, literature, sports, and public life belong at the heart of the national story.

The Historical Journey from Slavery to Civil Rights

Descending into History

Many visitors begin below ground in the history galleries. The physical descent carries symbolic meaning: visitors enter painful chapters of the past before moving upward toward freedom, community, cultural expression, and achievement. The story begins in Africa and examines the transatlantic slave trade, forced migration, family separation, plantation labor, resistance, faith, abolition, and the Underground Railroad.

The museum presents enslaved people as complete human beings rather than anonymous victims. They were parents, workers, builders, artists, believers, and leaders who protected family ties, preserved culture, resisted oppression, and defended their dignity. Personal objects and testimony turn broad historical events into individual human experiences.

Civil War Emancipation and Reconstruction

Nearly 200,000 African American men served in the Union Army and Navy during the Civil War. Their service helped secure Union victory and connected military sacrifice with the demand for freedom and citizenship. President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation in 1863, and the Thirteenth Amendment abolished slavery throughout the United States in 1865.

Emancipation did not immediately create equality. During Reconstruction, African Americans built schools, churches, businesses, families, and political organizations. Black men voted and held public office, but these advances faced organized violence and resistance. The Jim Crow era imposed segregation, voter suppression, economic discrimination, and racial terror even as African American communities created powerful institutions and cultural networks.

The Long Civil Rights Movement

The museum traces legal challenges, boycotts, sit-ins, Freedom Rides, marches, voter-registration drives, student activism, and community organizing. It honors famous leaders such as Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Medgar Evers, Thurgood Marshall, and John Lewis while emphasizing the work of countless local participants. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Voting Rights Act of 1965 were landmark achievements, but the continuing pursuit of equal justice remains part of the story.

Community Service Culture and the Living Story

Community and the Power of Place

The community galleries show how churches, schools, neighborhoods, historically Black colleges and universities, barbershops, beauty salons, theaters, businesses, and cultural centers became places of safety, identity, education, entrepreneurship, and political action. A place is more than a group of buildings; it can hold family memory, spiritual life, collective struggle, and shared achievement.

Military Service Sports and Cultural Influence

African Americans have served in every major conflict involving the United States. The museum follows that service from the Revolution and the United States Colored Troops to the Buffalo Soldiers, World War I, the Tuskegee Airmen, the Double V campaign, military desegregation, and later wars. Their service exposed the contradiction between democratic ideals abroad and racial inequality at home.

African American athletes challenged segregation and expanded opportunity. Jesse Owens, Jackie Robinson, Wilma Rudolph, Muhammad Ali, Althea Gibson, Arthur Ashe, Carl Lewis, Serena and Venus Williams, Michael Jordan, Simone Biles, and many others became symbols of excellence and courage. Sport also became a platform for speaking about racism, war, poverty, voting rights, and justice.

From Spirituals to Hip Hop

African American music shaped American and global culture through spirituals, gospel, blues, jazz, rhythm and blues, soul, funk, rock and roll, rap, and hip hop. The story includes Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Ella Fitzgerald, B. B. King, Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Tupac Shakur, and many other artists. Music has carried faith, grief, protest, humor, love, celebration, and hope across generations.

Faith Art and Everyday Objects

Churches and other faith communities served as houses of worship, schools, meeting places, relief centers, and organizing spaces. The museum also explores Islam and the wider diversity of African American religious life. Art, literature, theater, film, television, photography, fashion, and dance challenged stereotypes and revealed the depth of Black experience. A uniform, family photograph, church program, instrument, letter, or suitcase can preserve history as powerfully as an official document.

Lessons Questions and Visitor Information

Lessons from the Episode

African American history is central to the history and identity of the United States.

Honest remembrance joins painful truth with stories of courage creativity faith and achievement.

Freedom became real through the work and sacrifice of ordinary people as well as national leaders.

Music sport religion education military service and entrepreneurship all helped shape American culture.

Museums preserve personal objects because everyday lives are part of the historical record.

Questions and Answers

When did the museum open? It opened to the public on 24 September 2016 as the nineteenth Smithsonian museum.

Why is much of the building underground? The design creates extensive exhibition space while respecting the National Mall skyline and supports the symbolic descent into history.

What does the corona represent? Its three-tiered form and patterned metalwork connect African heritage with African American craftsmanship.

How large is the collection? The museum holds more than 45,000 objects, with selected artifacts displayed throughout its exhibitions.

Is the museum only for African American visitors? No. It is for everyone seeking to understand American history, democracy, culture, and identity.

Plan Your Visit

Address 1400 Constitution Avenue NW Washington DC 20560.

Admission is free but free timed-entry passes are required for most individual visitors.

Entrances are on Constitution Avenue and Madison Drive.

Federal Triangle and Smithsonian are nearby Metro stations.

Confirm current hours exhibitions accessibility guidance and pass rules at nmaahc.si.edu before traveling.

Discover Washington with Zohery Tours

Zohery Tours has shared Washington DC history and culture with visitors from around the world for nearly forty years. For guided sightseeing tours of the capital’s museums, monuments, memorials, and neighborhoods, visit www.zohery.com or call +1-202-437-1295.

الْعَدَدُ الْحَادِي وَالْعِشْرُونَ الْمُتْحَفُ الْوَطَنِيُّ لِلتَّارِيخِ وَالثَّقَافَةِ الْأَفْرِيقِيَّةِ الْأَمْرِيكِيَّةِ

تَارِيخٌ وَذَاكِرَةٌ وَثَقَافَةٌ وَنِضَالٌ وَإِنْجَازٌ وَأَمَلٌ

الْمَجَلَّةُ الرَّقْمِيَّةُ وَأَرْشِيفُ بُودْكَاسْتِ الدُّكْتُورِ عَلِي الزُّهَيْرِي

النَّصُّ الْإِنْجِلِيزِيُّ أَوَّلًا ثُمَّ النَّصُّ الْعَرَبِيُّ

إِعْدَادٌ وَتَقْدِيمٌ Dr. Ali Zohery, Ph.D.

تَارِيخُ النَّشْرِ ٢٣ سِبْتَمْبَرَ ٢٠٢٦

مُدَّةُ الْحَلْقَةِ ٢٨ دَقِيقَةً وَ٣٦ ثَانِيَةً

زُهَيْرِي تُورْز www.zohery.com +1-202-437-1295

مُلَخَّصُ الْعَدَدِ

يَزُورُ الْعَدَدُ الْحَادِي وَالْعِشْرُونَ الْمُتْحَفَ الْوَطَنِيَّ لِلتَّارِيخِ وَالثَّقَافَةِ الْأَفْرِيقِيَّةِ الْأَمْرِيكِيَّةِ، فِي ١٤٠٠ شَارِعِ الدُّسْتُورِ عَلَى الْمُتَنَزَّهِ الْوَطَنِيِّ فِي وَاشِنْطُن. وَيَجْمَعُ الْمُتْحَفُ بَيْنَ التَّارِيخِ وَالذَّاكِرَةِ وَالثَّقَافَةِ وَالنِّضَالِ وَالْإِنْجَازِ وَالْأَمَلِ، وَيُؤَكِّدُ أَنَّ تَارِيخَ الْأَمْرِيكِيِّينَ مِنْ أُصُولٍ أَفْرِيقِيَّةٍ جُزْءٌ أَسَاسِيٌّ مِنَ التَّارِيخِ الْأَمْرِيكِيِّ.

يَعْرِضُ الْمُتْحَفُ الْحَقَائِقَ الصَّعْبَةَ عَنِ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ وَالظُّلْمِ الْعُنْصُرِيِّ، وَيُكَرِّمُ فِي الْوَقْتِ نَفْسِهِ الْمُقَاوَمَةَ وَالْإِيمَانَ وَالْأُسْرَةَ وَالْخِدْمَةَ وَالْإِبْدَاعَ وَالْقِيَادَةَ وَالْإِنْجَازَ. وَهُوَ فَصْلٌ وَطَنِيٌّ كَبِيرٌ يَدْعُو كُلَّ زَائِرٍ إِلَى التَّفْكِيرِ فِي مَعَانِي الْحُرِّيَّةِ وَالْمُوَاطَنَةِ وَالْمُسَاوَاةِ وَالْكَرَامَةِ الْإِنْسَانِيَّةِ.

مُتْحَفٌ لِلْجَمِيعِ

لَا يَخُصُّ هَذَا الْمُتْحَفُ جَمَاعَةً وَاحِدَةً، بَلْ يَخُصُّ كُلَّ مَنْ يُرِيدُ أَنْ يَفْهَمَ الْوِلَايَاتِ الْمُتَّحِدَةَ. وَهُوَ لَا يَسْتَحْضِرُ الْمَاضِيَ لِتَقْسِيمِ النَّاسِ، بَلْ لِيُسَاعِدَهُمْ عَلَى الْفَهْمِ وَبِنَاءِ مُسْتَقْبَلٍ أَكْثَرَ عَدْلًا.

قَرْنٌ مِنَ الْجُهُودِ وَمَبْنًى مَعْمَارِيٌّ ذُو دَلَالَةٍ

مِنَ الْفِكْرَةِ إِلَى الِافْتِتَاحِ

بَدَأَتِ الْمُطَالَبَةُ بِإِنْشَاءِ نُصْبٍ وَطَنِيٍّ يُكَرِّمُ إِنْجَازَاتِ الْأَمْرِيكِيِّينَ مِنْ أُصُولٍ أَفْرِيقِيَّةٍ فِي أَوَائِلِ الْقَرْنِ الْعِشْرِينَ. وَفِي سَنَةِ ١٩١٥ نَظَّمَ مُحَارِبُونَ قُدَامَى مِنَ الْحَرْبِ الْأَهْلِيَّةِ وَمُؤَيِّدُونَ آخَرُونَ حَمْلَةً لِنَيْلِ الِاعْتِرَافِ الْوَطَنِيِّ. وَأَجَازَ الْكُونْغِرِسُ لَجْنَةً تَذْكَارِيَّةً سَنَةَ ١٩٢٩، وَلَكِنَّ الْمَشْرُوعَ لَمْ يَحْصُلْ عَلَى التَّمْوِيلِ اللَّازِمِ.

أَنْشَأَ الْكُونْغِرِسُ الْمُتْحَفَ بِقَانُونٍ فِي ١٦ دِيسَمْبَرَ ٢٠٠٣. وَافْتُتِحَ فِي ٢٤ سِبْتَمْبَرَ ٢٠١٦ بَوْصْفِهِ الْمُتْحَفَ التَّاسِعَ عَشَرَ فِي مُؤَسَّسَةِ سْمِيثْسُونِيَان، وَقَادَ الرَّئِيسُ بَارَاك أُوبَامَا مَرَاسِمَ الِافْتِتَاحِ. وَبَدَأَ الْمُتْحَفُ دُونَ مَجْمُوعَةٍ مَوْرُوثَةٍ، ثُمَّ جَمَعَ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ ٤٥ أَلْفَ قِطْعَةٍ بِفَضْلِ الْبَحْثِ وَتَبَرُّعَاتِ الْجُمْهُورِ.

الْعِمَارَةُ وَرُمُوزُهَا

فَازَ فَرِيقُ فْرِيلُون أَدْجَاي بُونْد سْمِيث غْرُوب بِالْمُسَابَقَةِ الدَّوْلِيَّةِ سَنَةَ ٢٠٠٩. وَكَانَ دَيْفِيد أَدْجَاي الْمُصَمِّمَ الرَّئِيسِيَّ، وَفِيل فْرِيلُون الْمِعْمَارِيَّ الرَّئِيسِيَّ. وَتَبْلُغُ مِسَاحَةُ الْمَبْنَى نَحْوَ ٤٠٠ أَلْفِ قَدَمٍ مُرَبَّعَةٍ، وَيَقَعُ نَحْوُ سِتِّينَ فِي الْمِئَةِ مِنْهُ تَحْتَ الْأَرْضِ.

يَتَكَوَّنُ التَّاجُ الْخَارِجِيُّ ذُو الْمُسْتَوَيَاتِ الثَّلَاثَةِ مِنْ ٣٦٠٠ لَوْحٍ مِنَ الْأَلُومِنْيُومِ ذِي اللَّوْنِ الْبُرُونْزِيِّ. وَيَسْتَلْهِمُ شَكْلًا مُرْتَبِطًا بِفَنِّ الْيُورُوبَا وَبِأَعْمَالِ الْحَدِيدِ الَّتِي أَنْجَزَهَا حِرَفِيُّونَ أَفْرِيقِيُّونَ أَمْرِيكِيُّونَ فِي الْجَنُوبِ. أَمَّا الشُّرْفَةُ فَتَرْمُزُ إِلَى مَكَانِ اجْتِمَاعِ الْأُسَرِ وَرِوَايَةِ الْقِصَصِ وَحِفْظِ الذَّاكِرَةِ.

دَلَالَةُ الْمَوْقِعِ

يَضَعُ الْمَوْقِعُ عَلَى الْمُتَنَزَّهِ الْوَطَنِيِّ هَذَا التَّارِيخَ بِجِوَارِ نُصُبِ وَاشِنْطُن وَرُمُوزِ الدَّوْلَةِ. وَيُعْلِنُ بِوُضُوحٍ أَنَّ قِصَصَ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ وَالْعِتْقِ وَإِعَادَةِ الْإِعْمَارِ وَالْحُقُوقِ الْمَدَنِيَّةِ وَالْخِدْمَةِ الْعَسْكَرِيَّةِ وَالْعِلْمِ وَالثَّقَافَةِ تَقَعُ فِي قَلْبِ الْقِصَّةِ الْوَطَنِيَّةِ.

الرِّحْلَةُ التَّارِيخِيَّةُ مِنَ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ إِلَى الْحُقُوقِ الْمَدَنِيَّةِ

النُّزُولُ إِلَى عُمْقِ التَّارِيخِ

يَبْدَأُ كَثِيرٌ مِنَ الزُّوَّارِ فِي الْقَاعَاتِ التَّارِيخِيَّةِ تَحْتَ الْأَرْضِ. وَيَحْمِلُ هَذَا النُّزُولُ مَعْنًى رَمْزِيًّا؛ فَالزَّائِرُ يَدْخُلُ الْفُصُولَ الْمُؤْلِمَةَ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَصْعَدَ تَدْرِيجِيًّا نَحْوَ الْحُرِّيَّةِ وَالْمُجْتَمَعِ وَالْإِنْجَازِ. وَتَبْدَأُ الْقِصَّةُ فِي أَفْرِيقِيَا، ثُمَّ تَتَنَاوَلُ تِجَارَةَ الرَّقِيقِ عَبْرَ الْأَطْلَنْطِيِّ، وَالْهِجْرَةَ الْقَسْرِيَّةَ، وَتَفْرِيقَ الْأُسَرِ، وَالْعَمَلَ الْقَسْرِيَّ، وَالْمُقَاوَمَةَ، وَالْإِيمَانَ، وَحَرَكَةَ إِلْغَاءِ الْعُبُودِيَّةِ.

لَا يُقَدِّمُ الْمُتْحَفُ الْمُسْتَعْبَدِينَ ضَحَايَا مَجْهُولِينَ، بَلْ بَشَرًا كَامِلِينَ؛ كَانُوا آبَاءً وَأُمَّهَاتٍ وَعُمَّالًا وَبَنَّائِينَ وَفَنَّانِينَ وَمُؤْمِنِينَ وَقَادَةً، حَافَظُوا عَلَى الْأُسْرَةِ وَالثَّقَافَةِ وَالْكَرَامَةِ، وَقَاوَمُوا الِاضْطِهَادَ.

الْحَرْبُ الْأَهْلِيَّةُ وَالْعِتْقُ

خَدَمَ نَحْوُ مِئَتَيْ أَلْفِ رَجُلٍ أَفْرِيقِيٍّ أَمْرِيكِيٍّ فِي جَيْشِ الِاتِّحَادِ وَبَحْرِيَّتِهِ خِلَالَ الْحَرْبِ الْأَهْلِيَّةِ. وَأَصْدَرَ الرَّئِيسُ أَبْرَاهَام لِنْكُولْن إِعْلَانَ الْعِتْقِ سَنَةَ ١٨٦٣، ثُمَّ أَلْغَى التَّعْدِيلُ الثَّالِثَ عَشَرَ الْعُبُودِيَّةَ فِي جَمِيعِ الْوِلَايَاتِ الْمُتَّحِدَةِ سَنَةَ ١٨٦٥. لَكِنَّ الْحُرِّيَّةَ كَانَتْ بِدَايَةَ نِضَالٍ طَوِيلٍ مِنْ أَجْلِ الْمُسَاوَاةِ.

إِعَادَةُ الْإِعْمَارِ وَالْفَصْلُ الْعُنْصُرِيُّ

بَنَى الْأَمْرِيكِيُّونَ مِنْ أُصُولٍ أَفْرِيقِيَّةٍ الْمَدَارِسَ وَالْكَنَائِسَ وَالْأَعْمَالَ وَالْمُنَظَّمَاتِ السِّيَاسِيَّةَ. وَمَارَسَ الرِّجَالُ حَقَّ الِاقْتِرَاعِ وَتَوَلَّى بَعْضُهُمْ مَنَاصِبَ عَامَّةً، لَكِنَّ هَذِهِ الْمَكَاسِبَ وَاجَهَتْ عُنْفًا مُنَظَّمًا. وَفَرَضَ عَصْرُ جِيم كْرُو الْفَصْلَ وَحِرْمَانَ النَّاخِبِينَ وَالتَّمْيِيزَ وَالْإِرْهَابَ الْعُنْصُرِيَّ، فِي حِينِ بَنَتِ الْمُجْتَمَعَاتُ مُؤَسَّسَاتِهَا وَشَبَكَاتِهَا الثَّقَافِيَّةَ.

حَرَكَةُ الْحُقُوقِ الْمَدَنِيَّةِ

يَتَتَبَّعُ الْمُتْحَفُ الْمُقَاطَعَاتِ وَالِاعْتِصَامَاتِ وَرِحْلَاتِ الْحُرِّيَّةِ وَالْمَسِيرَاتِ وَتَسْجِيلَ النَّاخِبِينَ وَنَشَاطَ الطُّلَّابِ وَالطُّعُونَ الْقَضَائِيَّةَ. وَيُكَرِّمُ رُوزَا بَارْكْس وَمَارْتِن لُوثَر كِينْغ الِابْنَ وَمَالْكُوم إِكْس وَإِلَّا بَيْكَر وَفَانِي لُو هَامَر وَمِيدْغَر إِيفَرْز وَثُورْغُود مَارْشَال وَجُون لُوِيس، إِلَى جَانِبِ عَدَدٍ لَا يُحْصَى مِنَ الْمُشَارِكِينَ الْمَحَلِّيِّينَ.

الْمُجْتَمَعُ وَالْخِدْمَةُ وَالثَّقَافَةُ الْحَيَّةُ

قُوَّةُ الْمَكَانِ

تُظْهِرُ قَاعَاتُ الْمُجْتَمَعِ كَيْفَ أَصْبَحَتِ الْكَنَائِسُ وَالْمَدَارِسُ وَالْأَحْيَاءُ وَالْجَامِعَاتُ السُّودَاءُ تَارِيخِيًّا وَمَحَالُّ الْحِلَاقَةِ وَالْمَسَارِحُ وَالْمَشْرُوعَاتُ أَمَاكِنَ لِلْأَمَانِ وَالْهُوِيَّةِ وَالتَّعْلِيمِ وَرِيَادَةِ الْأَعْمَالِ وَالْعَمَلِ السِّيَاسِيِّ. فَالْمَكَانُ قَدْ يَحْمِلُ ذَاكِرَةَ أُسْرَةٍ وَحَيَاةً رُوحِيَّةً وَنِضَالًا وَإِنْجَازًا جَمَاعِيًّا.

الْخِدْمَةُ الْعَسْكَرِيَّةُ وَالرِّيَاضَةُ

خَدَمَ الْأَمْرِيكِيُّونَ مِنْ أُصُولٍ أَفْرِيقِيَّةٍ فِي كُلِّ صِرَاعٍ رَئِيسِيٍّ شَارَكَتْ فِيهِ الْوِلَايَاتُ الْمُتَّحِدَةُ، مِنَ الثَّوْرَةِ وَجُنُودِ الْوِلَايَاتِ الْمُتَّحِدَةِ الْمُلَوَّنِينَ إِلَى جُنُودِ الْجَامُوسِ وَطَيَّارِي تُوسْكِيغِي وَالْحُرُوبِ الْحَدِيثَةِ. وَكَشَفَتْ خِدْمَتُهُمْ عَنِ التَّنَاقُضِ بَيْنَ الْمُثُلِ الدِّيمُقْرَاطِيَّةِ وَعَدَمِ الْمُسَاوَاةِ فِي الدَّاخِلِ.

وَتَحَدَّى الرِّيَاضِيُّونَ الْفَصْلَ الْعُنْصُرِيَّ وَوَسَّعُوا الْفُرَصَ. وَأَصْبَحَ جِيسِي أُوِنْز وَجَاكِي رُوبِنْسُون وَوِلْمَا رُودُولْف وَمُحَمَّد عَلِي وَأَلْثِيَا غِبْسُون وَآرْثَر آش وَكَارْل لُوِيس وَسِيرِينَا وَفِينُوس وِلْيَامْز وَمَايْكِل جُورْدَان وَسِيمُون بَايْلْز رُمُوزًا لِلتَّفَوُّقِ وَالشَّجَاعَةِ.

مِنَ الْأَغَانِي الرُّوحِيَّةِ إِلَى الْهِيبْ هُوب

شَكَّلَتِ الْمُوسِيقَى الْأَفْرِيقِيَّةُ الْأَمْرِيكِيَّةُ الثَّقَافَةَ الْأَمْرِيكِيَّةَ وَالْعَالَمِيَّةَ؛ مِنَ الْأَغَانِي الرُّوحِيَّةِ وَالْغُوسْبِل إِلَى الْبْلُوز وَالْجَاز وَالسُّول وَالْفَانْك وَالرَّاب وَالْهِيبْ هُوب. وَحَمَلَتِ الْمُوسِيقَى الْإِيمَانَ وَالْحُزْنَ وَالِاحْتِجَاجَ وَالْحُبَّ وَالْفَرَحَ وَالْأَمَلَ عَبْرَ الْأَجْيَالِ.

الْإِيمَانُ وَالْفَنُّ وَأَشْيَاءُ الْحَيَاةِ الْيَوْمِيَّةِ

أَدَّتِ الْكَنَائِسُ وَالْمُجْتَمَعَاتُ الدِّينِيَّةُ دَوْرَ دُورِ الْعِبَادَةِ وَالْمَدَارِسِ وَمَرَاكِزِ الْإِغَاثَةِ وَالتَّنْظِيمِ. وَيَعْرِضُ الْمُتْحَفُ أَيْضًا الْإِسْلَامَ وَتَنَوُّعَ الْحَيَاةِ الدِّينِيَّةِ. كَمَا تَحَدَّى الْفَنُّ وَالْأَدَبُ وَالْمَسْرَحُ وَالسِّينَمَا وَالتِّلْفَازُ وَالتَّصْوِيرُ الصُّوَرَ النَّمَطِيَّةَ. وَقَدْ تَحْفَظُ بَدْلَةٌ عَسْكَرِيَّةٌ أَوْ صُورَةُ أُسْرَةٍ أَوْ رِسَالَةٌ أَوْ آلَةٌ مُوسِيقِيَّةٌ التَّارِيخَ بِقُوَّةِ الْوَثِيقَةِ الرَّسْمِيَّةِ نَفْسِهَا.

الدُّرُوسُ وَالْأَسْئِلَةُ وَمَعْلُومَاتُ الزِّيَارَةِ

دُرُوسٌ مِنَ الْحَلْقَةِ

التَّارِيخُ الْأَفْرِيقِيُّ الْأَمْرِيكِيُّ أَسَاسِيٌّ لِفَهْمِ تَارِيخِ الْوِلَايَاتِ الْمُتَّحِدَةِ وَهُوِيَّتِهَا.

تَجْمَعُ الذَّاكِرَةُ الصَّادِقَةُ بَيْنَ الْحَقِيقَةِ الْمُؤْلِمَةِ وَالشَّجَاعَةِ وَالْإِبْدَاعِ وَالْإِيمَانِ وَالْإِنْجَازِ.

صَنَعَ النَّاسُ الْعَادِيُّونَ الْحُرِّيَّةَ بِالْعَمَلِ وَالتَّضْحِيَةِ إِلَى جَانِبِ الْقَادَةِ الْمَعْرُوفِينَ.

تَحْفَظُ الْمَتَاحِفُ الْأَشْيَاءَ الشَّخْصِيَّةَ لِأَنَّ الْحَيَاةَ الْيَوْمِيَّةَ جُزْءٌ مِنَ السِّجِلِّ التَّارِيخِيِّ.

أَسْئِلَةٌ وَأَجْوِبَةٌ

مَتَى افْتُتِحَ الْمُتْحَفُ؟ فِي ٢٤ سِبْتَمْبَرَ ٢٠١٦، بَوْصْفِهِ الْمُتْحَفَ التَّاسِعَ عَشَرَ فِي سْمِيثْسُونِيَان.

لِمَاذَا يَقَعُ جُزْءٌ كَبِيرٌ مِنْهُ تَحْتَ الْأَرْضِ؟ لِتَوْفِيرِ قَاعَاتٍ وَاسِعَةٍ مَعَ احْتِرَامِ أُفُقِ الْمُتَنَزَّهِ الْوَطَنِيِّ، وَلِتَجْسِيدِ النُّزُولِ الرَّمْزِيِّ إِلَى التَّارِيخِ.

مَاذَا يَرْمُزُ التَّاجُ الْخَارِجِيُّ؟ يَرْبِطُ بَيْنَ التُّرَاثِ الْأَفْرِيقِيِّ وَالْحِرَفِ الْأَفْرِيقِيَّةِ الْأَمْرِيكِيَّةِ.

كَمْ يَبْلُغُ حَجْمُ الْمَجْمُوعَةِ؟ تَضُمُّ أَكْثَرَ مِنْ ٤٥ أَلْفَ قِطْعَةٍ.

مَعْلُومَاتُ الزِّيَارَةِ

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