Ruth Odom Bonner, Daughter Of A Slave, Opened National Museum of African American History and Culture

Along with President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, 99-year-old Ruth Odom Bonner rang the bell to officially open the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, the nation’s first Black history museum, as reported by the Huffington Post.

“Today, we have with us a family that reflects the arc of our progress: the Bonner family ― four generations in all, starting with gorgeous 7-year-old Christine and going up to gorgeous 99-year-old Ruth,” President Barack Obama said. “Ruth’s father, Elijah Odom, was born into servitude in Mississippi. He was born a slave. As a young boy, he ran, though, to his freedom. He lived through Reconstruction and he lived through Jim Crow. But he went on to farm, and graduate from medical school, and gave life to the beautiful family that we see today ― with a spirit reflected in beautiful Christine, free and equal in the laws of her country and in the eyes of God.” 

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Source: Black Then (Discovering Our History)