In June 2013, Oprah Winfrey pledged $12 million to the Smithsonian Institution to help fund its National Museum of African American History and Culture, the largest private donation in the museum’s history. She had earlier donated $1 million in 2007 and joined the advisory council in 2004.
The pledge bolstered a $500 million fundraising campaign, with Congress approving half the funds and private donors contributing the rest. The money enabled the construction of the 350‑seat Oprah Winfrey Theater, the museum’s flagship performance space.
The theater sits below ground on Concourse 0, adjacent to the Washington Monument, and was designed by Davis Brody Bond. Its underground location required complex engineering, but the result is a space that hosts live performances, academic talks, film screenings and public debates about African American history.
“Her gifts will forever be associated with harnessing the power of art and creative expression to build bridges between cultures,” said Lonnie G. Bunch III, the museum’s founding director. The theater’s programming aims to use African American history as a lens to explore what it means to be an American.
The building opened in September 2016, and the theater’s inaugural event featured a panel of historians discussing the museum’s collection. Visitors report that the space feels “alive” and “integrated into the national conversation,” according to a local family who toured the museum.
The donation continues to influence the museum’s mission, ensuring that stories of African American culture and resilience remain front‑and‑center for future generations.