If you had no idea who Lonnie Bunch was, upon first introduction you might guess that he's a professor. The wide glasses. The precise speech. The way of telling a story with an emphasis on details revealing a deep and hungry intellect. The obvious delight he takes in the sound of his own voice.

But despite the enormous power he wields as founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opens on Saturday, September 24, Bunch dons an inviting “aw, shucks” cloak to shave an edge off the authority that naturally comes with his title.

Bunch tends to pepper his statements with the flourish: “I’m not that smart.” Don’t be fooled. Listen carefully,