Thread by @SmithsonianSec

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.

@NMAAHC One of the final objects Dr. Blockson brought out was a shawl that had been given to Tubman by Queen Victoria as a sign of respect for Tubman's courage. It is a sacred relic. When he showed us a hymnal Tubman carried, I was crying profusely, as were all my colleagues.

@NMAAHC Dr. Blockson's collection was stunning, but I wasn't sure what he planned to do with it. I gingerly raised the question of cost. He stopped me and said, “This belongs in a place where the public can enjoy the collections. It is yours.” I was floored.

#CreatingNMAAHC

@NMAAHC Dr. Blockson could have sold the collection. Instead, he ensured that Tubman's life would be available to the millions who would visit @NMAAHC. Blockson’s act also convinced me that we could find deeply meaningful collections in unlikely places.

https://twitter.com/NMAAHC/status/1184210406115438593

I am so moved and grateful that Dr. Blockson joined me this evening at my #CreatingNMAAHC book event in Philadelphia. His generosity, and that of the hundreds who followed him, was crucial to the museum building its collections and telling #ANationsStory.