By Eleanor Boswell-Raine
Globe Managing Editor

In December, San Francisco’s Museum of the African Diaspora (MoAD), opened its doors to the world as a museum dedicated to the understanding of the oneness of our human origins in Africa and to the concept that we are one family whose branches, limbs and leaves have scattered throughout the world.
    MoAD Board President Belva Davis summed up the spirit of her long-term involvement in the project, saying, “It is our belief that society will view the creation of the Museum of the African Diaspora as an extraordinary moment when the innate human desire for harmony prevails over all who seek to destroy it.”

    As a museum of people rather than just objects, MoAD seeks to tell the stories of people whose origins began in Africa, and who then migrated throughout the world, creating new worlds and cultures, adapting to new environments, and whose experiences outside of Africa often involved social and economic inequities based on the shade of their skin.
    MoAD’s goal is to foster debate and discussion of what it means to belong to the African diaspora and what the word “diaspora” means today in the context of globalization.
    The Made in Africa exhibit brings home the origins theme and is comprised of three twomillion- year-old stone tools mounted in individual glass cases on loan from the British Museum. Visitors can touch ancient tools, adding to the enrichment of seeing the early-engineered tools that separated humans from other living organisms.
    MoAD’s inaugural exhibition program features Dispersed: African Legacy/New World Reality, which examines how three artists of African descent - Maria Magdalena Campos- Pons, Mildred Howard and Marepe (Marcos Reis Peixoto) - investigate their origins and a shared African heritage.
    MoAD’s extraordinary exhibits give cultural voice to a kaleidoscope of human experiences, hopes and dreams expressed through a variety of mediums. The museum gives its visitors opportunities to personalize their MoAD experience through interactive mediums and seating in alcoves that encourage reflection.
    The Globe has chosen to showcase the Museum of the African Diaspora for its 2006 Black History Edition. The beauty of MoAD for those in the East Bay is that it is not necessary to travel to another continent to connect the dots to our roots and common kinship. We need only cross the bridge to whet our appetites and to bring ourselves, our friends and especially our children to this oneof- a-kind experience.
    Visit www.moadsf.org to experience an on-line preview of MoAD exhibits, lectures and events and to learn about museum membership, community projects and group tours.