Smithsonian employees gathered outside of the National Museum of African American History and Culture to stand together this afternoon after visitors found a noose there on Wednesday.

Tourists found a noose at the museum’s exhibit on segregation, Smithsonian officials said on Wednesday. U.S. Park Police removed it, and reopened the gallery within three hours.

“The noose has long represented a deplorable act of cowardice and depravity—a symbol of extreme violence for African Americans,” Lonnie Bunch, the museum’s founding director, said in a statement, calling the incident “a painful reminder of the challenges that African Americans continue to face.”

The “horrible act,” as described by Bunch, follows the hanging of a noose near the Hirshhorn Museum on Friday, in addition to nooses hung on the campuses of University of Maryland and American University.

The University of Maryland is also where 23-year-old Richard Collins III was recently killed by a white UMD student who was part of an online group that posts racists comments.

Erin Blasco, a staffer at the National Museum of American History, told DCist that she met up with colleagues around 12:15 p.m. today and walked over to the National Museum of African American History and Culture where they stayed for about an hour.

The gathering ended with a group photo, Blasco says, adding that lots of employees also lingered to “reconnect, reflect, and hug.”

Park Police haven’t released any new information regarding yesterday’s incident at the NMAAHC, nor the noose that was found near the Hirshhorn.

Smithsonian Secretary David Skorton sent a letter to employees Wednesday telling them that “We will not be intimidated. With new urgency, we will tell the story of our nation and all its people. We will continue to fight this sort of ignorance with knowledge.” He also said that the Smithsonian would provide counseling to employees if needed.

Filed Under: african american history museum, nmaahc, noose, smithsonian, Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture,