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HUBERT H. HUMPHREY
MINNESOTA
United States Senate
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20510
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The Honorable Warren Burger
Chancellor, Board of Regents
Smithsonian Institution
Washington, D.C. 20560

Dear Mr. Chief Justice:

We understand that the Smithsonian is currently considering the acceptance of a gift to the nation of the entire complex of the Museum of African Art, its extensive collections and its physical plant. We want to go on record in favor of such a gift because we believe that the Museum will be a fine and important addition to the Smithsonian, providing a dimension and degree of excellence which are wholly consistent with the goals of the Smithsonian Institution.

The Museum has served for 12 years as a focal point for African art and culture not only in the nation's capital, but throughout the nation and the world. Its educational activities, reaching out to thousands of school children as well as the general public have been widely hailed; its important role in fostering African-American understanding has been attested to by the Secretary of State.

While the Museum may be small in comparison with some of the other divisions of the Smithsonian, its quality and impact have been immense. This means that while the appropriations for the Museum as a division of the Smithsonian would be very small each year, our investment in it would return benefits far in excess of the costs of its operation.

We wish to do all that we can to encourage this acquisition. We believe that the Regents will do a wise and fruitful thing in accepting the Museum as a gift to the nation.

Sincerely,


Hubert H. Humphrey