When President Obama spoke at the grand opening of the Smithsonian Museum of African American History & Culture on September 24, 2016, he quoted three gay icons.

The president kicked off his comments with the words of a famous writer. "James Baldwin once wrote," Obama said, "'For while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard.'"

Later, stressing the importance of African-American inclusion in society, Obama referenced the last line of a poem by Langston Hughes: "I too, am America."

African-Americans have shaped every aspect of our culture, Obama pointed out, reciting one of Walt Whitman's lines, "We are large, containing multitudes." This was taken from Whitman's poem, "Song of Myself."

This Rainbow Minute was read by Robyn Bentley.

“The Rainbow Minute” is produced by Judd Proctor and Brian Burns and can be heard every weekday at 7:59am, 12:29pm and 2:59pm on WRIR – 97.3fm in Richmond, Virginia, and webcast at wrir.org. It’s also heard internationally on over 200 stations.