The museum's groundbreaking ceremony took place on February 22, 2012.
President Barack Obama and museum director Bunch were among the speakers at the ceremony.
Actress Phylicia Rashād was the Master of Ceremonies for the event, which also featured poetry and music performed by Denyce Graves, Thomas Hampson, and the Heritage Signature Chorale.

Clark Construction Group, Smoot Construction, and H.J. Russell & Company won the contract to build the museum.
The architectural firm of McKissack & McKissack (which was the first African American-owned architectural firm in the United States) provided project management services on behalf of the Smithsonian, and acted as liaison between the Smithsonian and public utilities and D.C. government agencies.
Guy Nordenson and Associates and Robert Silman Associates were the structural engineers for the project.

The NAAMHC became the deepest museum on the National Mall.
Excavators dug 80 feet (24 m) below grade to lay the foundations, although the building itself will be only 70 feet (21 m) deep.
The museum is located at a low point on the Mall, and groundwater puts 27.78 pounds per square inch (191.5 kPa) on the walls.
To compensate, 85 US gallons (320 L) per minute of water were pumped out every day during construction of the foundation and below-grade walls, and a slurry of cement and sand injected into forms to stabilize the site.
Lasers continually monitored the walls during construction for any signs of bulging or movement.

The first concrete for the foundations was poured in November 2012.
As the lower levels were completed, cranes installed a segregated railroad passenger car and a guard tower from the Louisiana State Penitentiary on November 17, 2013.
These items were so large that they could not be dismantled and installed at a later date.
Instead, the museum had to be built around them.
By late December 2013, construction was just weeks from finishing the five basement levels, and above-ground work was scheduled to begin in late January 2014.
At that time, the Smithsonian estimated the museum would be finished in November 2015.

Guy Nordenson and Associates were the engineers for the superstructure of the museum building and long-span porch.
Robert Silman Associates oversaw the engineering of the below-grade structure and exhibit structural support.
The steel was fabricated by SteelFab, Inc. While the below-grade floors were made of reinforced concrete, with columns supporting each floor above, the above-grade floors were primarily exhibit space and needed to be kept column-free.
To support the upper floors, four massive walls, consisting of steel frames and cast-in-place concrete infill, were constructed.
Design and fabrication of the steel members of the above-ground structure required extreme precision, as the steel elements penetrated one another at more than 500 places and some beams had several hundred bolt-holes in them.
All structural steel elements also had to work almost perfectly with the rebar and rebar couplers so that elements would not run into one another and yet maintain structural integrity.
A system of girders around the fifth above-ground floor supported the corona.
Some of these girders were so complex they required more than 180 parts.
The 200-foot (61 m) long-span porch that covers the main entrance was built of long plate girders and box columns (also made of plate).
A 16-inch (41 cm) long steel camber beam at the midpoint helps support the porch roof.
An elliptical monumental staircase runs continually between the above-ground floors.
This staircase has no intermediate supports, and weighs in at more than 80,000 pounds (36,000 kg).
SteelFab fabricated more than 4,050 short tons (3,670 t) of structural steel for the museum in conjunction with AIW, Inc. who fabricated the architecturally exposed,  and ornamental steel and bronze metal work.
SteelFab received an award from the Washington Building Congress for its work.
ArchDaily has reported that the museum was named the winner for the architecture category and the overall winner for the Beazley Design of t
The museum's groundbreaking ceremony took place on February 22, 2012. President Barack Obama and museum director Bunch were among the speakers at the ceremony. Actress Phylicia Rashād was the Master of Ceremonies for the event, which also featured poetry and music performed by Denyce Graves, Thomas Hampson, and the Heritage Signature Chorale.
Clark Construction Group, Smoot Construction, and H.J. Russell & Company won the contract to build the museum. The architectural firm of McKissack & McKissack (which was the first African American-owned architectural firm in the United States) provided project management services on behalf of the Smithsonian, and acted as liaison between the Smithsonian and public utilities and D.C. government agencies. Guy Nordenson and Associates and Robert Silman Associates were the structural engineers for the project.
The NAAMHC became the deepest museum on the National Mall. Excavators dug 80 feet (24 m) below grade to lay the foundations, although the building itself will be only 70 feet (21 m) deep. The museum is located at a low point on the Mall, and groundwater puts 27.78 pounds per square inch (191.5 kPa) on the walls. To compensate, 85 US gallons (320 L) per minute of water were pumped out every day during construction of the foundation and below-grade walls, and a slurry of cement and sand injected into forms to stabilize the site. Lasers continually monitored the walls during construction for any signs of bulging or movement.
The first concrete for the foundations was poured in November 2012. As the lower levels were completed, cranes installed a segregated railroad passenger car and a guard tower from the Louisiana State Penitentiary on November 17, 2013. These items were so large that they could not be dismantled and installed at a later date. Instead, the museum had to be built around them. By late December 2013, construction was just weeks from finishing the five basement levels, and above-ground work was scheduled to begin in late January 2014. At that time, the Smithsonian estimated the museum would be finished in November 2015.
Guy Nordenson and Associates were the engineers for the superstructure of the museum building and long-span porch. Robert Silman Associates oversaw the engineering of the below-grade structure and exhibit structural support. The steel was fabricated by SteelFab, Inc. While the below-grade floors were made of reinforced concrete, with columns supporting each floor above, the above-grade floors were primarily exhibit space and needed to be kept column-free. To support the upper floors, four massive walls, consisting of steel frames and cast-in-place concrete infill, were constructed. Design and fabrication of the steel members of the above-ground structure required extreme precision, as the steel elements penetrated one another at more than 500 places and some beams had several hundred bolt-holes in them. All structural steel elements also had to work almost perfectly with the rebar and rebar couplers so that elements would not run into one another and yet maintain structural integrity. A system of girders around the fifth above-ground floor supported the corona. Some of these girders were so complex they required more than 180 parts. The 200-foot (61 m) long-span porch that covers the main entrance was built of long plate girders and box columns (also made of plate). A 16-inch (41 cm) long steel camber beam at the midpoint helps support the porch roof. An elliptical monumental staircase runs continually between the above-ground floors. This staircase has no intermediate supports, and weighs in at more than 80,000 pounds (36,000 kg). SteelFab fabricated more than 4,050 short tons (3,670 t) of structural steel for the museum in conjunction with AIW, Inc. who fabricated the architecturally exposed,  and ornamental steel and bronze metal work. SteelFab received an award from the Washington Building Congress for its work. ArchDaily has reported that the museum was named the winner for the architecture category and the overall winner for the Beazley Design of t
National Museum of African American History and Culture