Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #creatingnmaahc
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When Dr. Charles Blockson invited me to Philadelphia to see artifacts related to Harriet Tubman, I was doubtful that much material from her life had survived. But at least I'd get a Philly cheesesteak and have the opportunity to see Blockson, who I admire. #CreatingNMAAHC 
@NMAAHC When we met at Temple University, Dr. Blockson brought out a tiny box. It seemed too small to hold a legacy as important as Harriet Tubman's and I thought I'd wasted a trip. But then Blockson opened the box.
@NMAAHC That day in Philadelphia, Dr. Blockson showed us 25 artifacts. A homemade knife and fork that Tubman carried on forays into the south to rescue enslaved people, photos of Tubman's 1913 funeral that few had ever seen. As each item emerged, our group grew more and more emotional.
I'll never forget the 11 p.m. meeting with Juan Garza, a self-described "Afro-Ecuadorian," that resulted in the first object entering @NMAAHC's collection. For #HispanicHeritageMonth, I want to share with you the story of this wooden boat seat from Ecuador. #CreatingNMAAHC
@NMAAHC Many formerly enslaved people fled to the swampy areas of Ecuador away from white enslavers, where they traveled waterways by canoe. Elderly women made the canoe seats. This one was made by Garza's grandmother. Spot an image of the West African trickster, Anansi the Spider? #HHM
The Ecuadorian boat seat represents the shared connections between the cultures of the transatlantic slave trade in the Americas. #HispanicHeritageMonth
