Moran, others in Congress seek study to create new Museum of American People on immigration

[alp227]

WASHINGTON — Several members of Congress called Thursday for a presidential commission to study the formation of a “melting pot museum” in Washington to tell the history of immigration and migration that formed the nation.

Democratic Virginia Rep. Jim Moran introduced legislation Thursday that calls for studying the creation of a National Museum of the American People without any federal taxpayer funds. The bill had 11 other co-sponsors.

“The people of the United States do not have a comprehensive and accurate picture of all the peoples who created and continue to build the nation,” the bill says.

Moran has been a critic of the trend toward building individual ethnic museums on the National Mall. Another presidential commission this year called for a Latino history museum to be added to the Smithsonian Institution.

full: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/moran-others-in-congress-seek-study-to-create-new-museum-of-american-people-on-immigration/2011/07/07/gIQAJMLC2H_story.html

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Don't they have one already on Ellis Island?

[bluerum]

2. Yes.There is an excellent museum at Ellis Island. But it also includes historical information

on the labor movement. Cannot have state funded history for this. Cannot have people remembering such.nonsense.

[Jazz Ambassador]

3. They should just convert the Smithsonian Museum of American History

Worst museum ever -- an utter hodgepodge with no mission, no coherence, and precious little ability to inform. I'd be happy to see it go, replaced with something like this.

[locahungaria]

4. That sounds very interesting!

There's an immigrant museum in Johnstown, PA that I haven't been to, but would love to visit:

http://www.jaha.org/DiscoveryCenter/virtualtour.html

It seems to be centered around the Eastern and Southern European immigrants that settled in the Johnstown region. A national museum encompassing all immigrants would be fascinating.

[Erose999]

5. I was thinking this guy would be creating an "anti-melting pot" museum....

They could put it next to the creationist museum and an anti-climate change museum and have like a Smithsonian for the willfully ignorant.

[Buns_of_Fire]

6. Being from Virginia, I knew who they were talking about -- BUT

the thought of The Moran Guy (tm) standing there in the well of the house -- bandana, sunglasses, sign and all -- always beings a chuckle (or maybe that's gas). I think that Michele Bachmann should draft him to be her running mate.