It took a little over 100 years to come to life with the architect of the museum being David Adjaye of a Ghanaian heritage who chose a striking bronze design for the building - an African crown motif from the Yoruba culture.

Members of the African American Association of Ghana thronged at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in the capital - Accra - to witness live-streaming of the event.The Museum celebrates the contributions of African Americans in every aspect of American society.

"Too often we ignored or forgot the stories of millions upon millions of others who built this nation just as surely," Obama said.At times brushing away a tear, he noted, the highs and lows of being black in America, from slavery and Jim Crow segregation to voting rights and election of the first black president.

"We are not a burden on America, or a stain on America, we are America, and that's what this museum explains," he told the thousands who had gathered for the event.Other speakers touched on the fact a lot of people did not want to talk about slavery, but it was very important to excite discussions around it, because black ancestors came from Africa - they were slaves, and that it was something people are not to be ashamed of.

The United States of American ambassador to Ghana, Robert P. Jackson, earlier told large Ghanaian spectators at the College of Physicians and Surgeons atrium that “there can be no history of America without African American history.”

“Indeed, this museum shows us how 600 years of the African experience in America have unfolded.”The dedication ceremony for the National Museum of Africa American History and Culture was interspersed with quietness and clapping and singing as speakers took turns to deliver thought provoking speeches.

“African American history is not separate from American history,” Jackson said “nor is it just a chapter in America history. The oppression, sacrifice, contributions and excellence of African Americans are central to every aspect of America’s past.”

The 400,000 square-foot Museum was first proposed in 1915 by a group of black veterans of America`s civil war, and estimated to cost over $500 million with the American government bearing half of the amount while the remaining footed by philanthropists.

“Since then, more than 150 museums focusing on African American culture and history have been established in cities and towns across America,” Jackson said.

He said those museums helped tell the facets of the African American story but none of them did so on a national scale.“I will go so far as to say that this, the 19th Smithsonian museum, is not just a new national treasure, it is an international achievement,” he added.

The architect of the museum, David Adjaye is one of Ghanaian heritage, he said and the striking bronze design he chose for the building features an African crown motif from the Yoruba culture.It is anticipated that the national monument will receive about 10,000 visitors daily who would see nearly 3,000 objects, 12 exhibitions, 183 videos, and more.

Jackson said featured on one of the museum walls is the closing line from a poem by the great Langston Hughes: ‘’I, too, am America.’’The massive structure is said to be 40 per cent of the museum while 60 per cent is underground.

“And that is where visitors begin their journey, in the literal and metaphorical depths, examining the slave trade,” Jackson said.