A museum to commemorate the history and community public housing has just opened in Chicago, but the National Public Housing Museum isn't just a museum.

There's also a workforce program recording studio and actual affordable housing units all on site.

And it's been nearly 2 decades in the making.

So joining us now to tell us more, at least the Yulee, the National Public Housing Museum's executive director and chief curator and Reverend Marshall Hatch, pastor of the New Mount Pilgrim Missionary Baptist Church whose childhood home is replicated in the museum.

Welcome back, both of you.

Thanks for joining Thank you.

It's so nice to be here.

So, Lisa, let's start with you.

Why do you think a museum for public housing is necessary?

Well, there's never been a museum that's more relevant to all the issues that we should be thinking about today.

>> But it's not just a museum about public housing.

It's about public education, public safety, public health.

It's about all the things that we value in commonwealth.

>> And so when people com, they're going to be in thrall, they're going to have their perceptions challenge.

going to learn things feel things and they're going to want to do things about housing in justice.

You explain that the museum was created by and for residents of public housing.

How does that principle sort of shape the exhibits and storytelling?

Yeah, I mean, from jump public housing residents were the people who imagined envision this museum.

Mister Veron Beverly, who was the head of the Central Advisory Council.

She had the brilliant idea for a museum where public housing residents themselves can participate in the narrative about what public housing is, what it's going to be for in the future.

And we amplify their voices, their stories and always, including and the apartments that we've restored in the museum.

Well, to that point, River Hatch, you grew up in the Jane Addams Homes on your childhood home is likely said replicated in the museum.

What memories kind of come back to you when you walk through that space?

Well, you know, it was surreal.

When we walked in, I walked in with my old assist as we live there for 14 years.

was a kid.

>> It was an ideal environment.

Really.

We had a lot of friends, lot of close and tight knit families.

And so we get to talk about really what it felt like to live in tight knit community to have what I would call family-friendly public policies.

We went to the neighborhood, public schools, state and public housing and it really family and gave us a great start.

You describe public housing in your youth as like you said, tight-knit but also economically integrated.

What do you think people misunderstand about life in those in public housing with this museum quest tells a story that originally public housing was built for European immigrants and this case at the Jane Addams for Italian American immigrants for Jewish American immigrants and then eventually African-Americans moved.

And so was a was a project that was to help families get a leg up.

And it really did that for our family.

My mom, you know, tragically passed away in that unit in the snow storm in 1967, my father finished raising us in in the community and it was it just tells a story of how we can do better than we've been doing in terms supporting families and helping them get a leg up.

We said they're playing pop culture or portrayals of public housing like good times with the Candyman movie.

>> And some of those show up in the museum.

But why did you want to also include those fictional depictions of public housing in the museum?

So much of what we do is challenge the stereotypes that we all live with.

When we hear the word public housing, it brings up of Israel feeling for so many people.

And so we do tell the Candyman story.

And you do understand.

>> So the history of good times.

We work with Cabrini Green residents to pick their top 10 favorite episodes in one of the exhibits.

But like Reverend Hatch said, you also will encounter that her of its family who moved into the Jane Addams Homes in the 1930's, a Jewish family when we asked them what in public housing mean to you, they said it means having our first kosher kitchen never touched by pork.

You also will learn from a beautiful exhibit that created by manual cinema and Taylor about the systemic injustices that change the demographic of public housing, the GIs bill and it's racism.

We will understand sort of the history of redlining and then also you'll have a gallery where you'll encounter the personal stories of people from Sonia Sotomayor who lives in public housing to George Floyd, who lived in public housing.

Also in the committee home.

So it's we always say never again.

Will single story be told us if it's the only one and when you come to National Public Housing Museum, you're going to account are so many compelling stories.

And of course, many of us we know the history of what happened many of those high-rise public buildings in Chicago then being demolished.

after that happened, Reverend Patrick, I kind of want to move on to.

>> You know, what you think was lost when those buildings were demolished, what you know, we had tight-knit communities.

And when I grew up there in the late 60's to mid to late 60's early 70's.

>> They were, as I've said, economically, integrated, like when my mother, those prices happen.

There was a nurse that live in public housing right across the lawn from us.

That was a policeman who live next to them.

So somewhere along the line, it was public policy.

Maybe inadvertent consequences that created narratives as pockets of poverty.

But it was not that in the beginning and we get to tell a different story about the how important it is to look at all of us living together, everybody having a right to a house.

>> Lisa, the back of the 15 units of public housing are attached the space.

Also doubles as a community center.

Why was it important to include housing in these programs in this institution?

Yeah, I mean, the National Public House Museum really example.

Excerpt case study for the future of civic institutions and the potential of museums to be cultural civic anchors.

I'm doing so much work to transform society.

So, you know, a museum is a mixed use space where you'll have beautiful art and history and artifacts.

But we're also creating spaces for housing and also for people to gather to imagine the future of housing.

And so that's the 21st Century Museum.

And we really believe that we exemplify that before we run out of time to have to ask Lisa, the Trump administration, of course, just announced these cuts to the National Endowment for the Humanities, which affects cultural programs and museums across the nation.

Does this concern you?

Yeah, this is a really big concern should be not just for museums and libraries, but for all Americans, you know, be need to challenge.

I think the legality of these cuts and we also need to hold government accountable for the people and its role in not just providing housing, but for providing vibrant arts and cultural and library libraries and types of institutions that serve all will have to leave it there.