Request funding to support a research assistant for my project, A Stronger Soul Within a Finer Frame: The National African-American Museum of History and Culture, a narrative chronicling the century-long struggle of African-Americans to establish a specific cultural presence on the National Mall. A story about a building yes, but at its core, it's essentially about a dream: how contagious it can be, how stubbornly fragile it remains and how delicately deep its roots can run; in a most particular and surprising way, the story of this building's journey to America's front yard is the story of a people's journey to America's first house, offering a long-awaited answer to Langston Hughes' famous query, "What happens to a dream deferred?"