Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup

Freelon Adjaye Bond/SmithGroup

There’s probably no more fitting a month than February for the groundbreaking of a national museum documenting the African American experience.

On Wednesday morning, President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, along with representatives of the Smithsonian Institution, officiated the next phase for the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington.

During the event, held on the site of the future building, Obama called the museum a “monument for all time” that would serve as “a call to see ourselves in one another.”

“I want my daughters to see the shackles that bound slaves on their voyage across the ocean and the shards of glass that flew from the 16th Street Baptist church, and understand that injustice and evil exist in the world,” Obama said.

To read the president's full remarks, click here.

Scheduled to open in 2015, the museum will feature a vast collection of exhibits documenting African American life, art, history and culture. The opening will coincide with 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery and the 50th anniversary of Voting Rights Act of 1965, Washington Mayor Vincent Gray noted, in remarks during the ceremony.

NMAAHC will be the Smithsonian's nineteenth museum.

The museum’s founding director, Lonnie Bunch, noted the impact the museum would have on generations of African American children, as well as children from all backgrounds.

A shoe shiner in Texas, Bunch related to ceremony attendees, told him the museum could “be the place where his grandchildren learn what life did to him and what he did to life."

The hour and a half long event was emceed by renowned actress Phylicia Rashad, and included remarks from Congressman John Lewis (D-Atlanta), former First Lady Laura Bush, the pastor of Harlem’s Abyssinian Baptist Church, Rev. Calvin Butts III, as well as performances from the Heritage Signature Choral.

Lewis and several of his colleagues were credited at the lawmakers who sponsored the bill creating the museum. The bill was signed into law by former President George W. Bush in 2003. During remarks, Lewis said he couldn't wait until he could "rest my tired feet" in the museum cafe.

As mentioned, the groundbreaking coincided with Black History Month. The Smithsonian has related exhibits and programming in the remaining days of February.

If you find yourself in Washington this weekend or early next week, check out some of the institution’s happenings by clicking here.