New African American Museum opens

President Barack Obama hailed the opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, a long-awaited testament to black suffering and triumph in the United States.

The first black president of the United States cut the ribbon to inaugurate the striking 37,000-square-meter bronze-clad edifice before thousands of spectators gathered in the US capital on Saturday.

"African American history is not somehow separate from our larger American story. It's not the underside of the American story," said Obama. "It is central to the American story."