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Lonnie Bunch III Set To Become Smithsonian Institution's First Black Secretary

Bunch, the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, will assume the mantle of leadership — and in so doing, make history at the 173-year-old organization
Lonnie G. Bunch III speaks during the 2016 dedication of the National Museum of African History and Culture in Washington, D.C. Bunch, the museum's founding director, will be taking over as secretary of the Smithsonian Institution in mid-June.

Updated at 10:47 a.m. ET

A new pilot is set to take the helm at the Smithsonian Institution.

The organization, a public-private partnership that has established and maintains many of the best-known museums in the U.S., unveiled its next secretary at a news conference Tuesday: , the founding director of the , will take over.

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