Lost to Fire: The African Collection of the National Museum of Brazil

In the evening of September 2, 2018, residents of São Cristóvão, a popular neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro's suburb, spotted smoke in the horizon near the lush municipal park of Quinta da Boa Vista. Later that evening, a stream of text messages, telephone calls, and television reports confirmed their fears: the National Museum was on fire. Upon notification, the city's fire department rushed to the place only to discover that the neighborhood's fire-hydrant system did not have enough pressure or water to power their hoses. Some of the museum's researchers and staff also appeared on the scene and, with local assistance, braved the flames in a risky and desperate attempt to salvage whatever they could before the fire consumed everything. The fire's intensity, however, grew quickly over the night and turned the museum into an impenetrable raging inferno. Due to social media and other means of communication, Brazilians everywhere stood...