WASHINGTON — A presidential commission, created during the Bush administration to study the feasibility of a National Museum of the American Latino, is recommending a new museum be built near the U.S. Capitol. The commission report, to be delivered to the White House and Congress today, also recommends that the museum be part of the Smithsonian Institution.
The report states that national recognition of the Latino contribution to America is long overdue: “The Mall, more than any other public space in our country does indeed tell the story of America, and yet that story is not complete. There must also be a living monument that recognizes that Latinos were here well before 1776 and that in this new century, the future is increasingly Latino, more than fifty million people and growing.”
It recommends Congress provide half the $600 million cost. Private donations would cover the remainder.
The Washington Post and The Associated Press
