Don’t be scared — Black history is your history, too

The red Cadillac Eldorado on display at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., might not be as meaningful to those who aren’t familiar with its original owner, rock pioneer Chuck Berry. (Neil Steinberg/Sun-Times)

Earlier this year I found myself in Washington, D.C. with a free afternoon, so I beelined to the National Mall. There are found the various and wonderful Smithsonian museums: the National Air & Space Museum, worth going just to set eyes on the Grumman Gulfhawk; the Museum of American History, with its tattered Fort McHenry flag, the original star-spangled banner; the National Portrait Gallery, showing off a newly-discovered painting of Lincoln.

None of those were considered.