This weekend, the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture will open on Washington D.C.’s National Mall. This new museum will be a place where all American citizens will be able to learn about African-American history and culture, and Microsoft donated $1 million to support the project earlier this year.
Fred Humphries, Corporate Vice President of U.S. Government Affairs for Microsoft in Washington, D.C. explained in a blog post today why the company backed the new museum:
Microsoft’s support of the National Museum of African American History and Culture is part of our longstanding commitment to foster diversity, equity and inclusion in everything we do – both at our company and in our communities. Providing an inclusive forum for African-American history and culture will promote diversity of thought, ideas and understanding, which is what Microsoft believes drives progress and innovation.
As you may know, Microsoft’s new CEO Satya Nadella has initiated a profound culture shift in the company and you can see this new focus on diversity and inclusion in many aspects including hiring programs, indie games or keynotes. If you live in the Washington D.C. area, the Smithsonian
National Museum of African American History & Culture is gearing up for an all weekend-long Grand Opening celebration will live performance from Public Enemy, The Roots and Living Colour tomorrow September 24th. We invite you to read all the details about the celebrations over here.
Further reading: Culture, Diversity, Microsoft, Washington
