Trump targeted this museum. Many visitors question why.
'African Americans are a part of American history,' Bri'Anne Wright, a 35-year-old from California, said after exploring the museum with her mother. 'There's no way this is anti-American if it's showing everything we've been through and what our nation is founded on.'
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'How is it divisive to educate people on what happened?' Leisa Stoeckert, 56, said. 'This is a long neglected part of history.'
Maggie Wright and Bri'Anne Wright at the African American Museum in Washington on Saturday.
Shedrick Pelt/For The Washington Post
Trump's executive order, which has drawn widespread condemnation from Democrats, claims that the Smithsonian had in recent years promoted narratives that portray American values as 'harmful and oppressive.' It directs Vice President JD Vance to eliminate what he finds 'improper' from the Smithsonian Institution, including its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo.
'Museums in our Nation's capital should be places where individuals go to learn - not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,' it states.
While the order attacked the Smithsonian Institution broadly, it also singled out the National Museum of African American History and Culture for a post it made nearly five years ago.
In 2020, the museum posted an infographic on the education section of its website, listing 'aspects and assumptions about white culture.' The traits included 'rugged individualism,' hard work, respect of authority and 'the nuclear family.'
After conservatives such as Ben Shapiro and Donald Trump Jr. criticized the post on social media, the museum released a statement apologizing for the chart and removed it. The chart, or any references to it, does not seem to appear in the physical museum or its website today.
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Several of the museum's visitors on Saturday had never heard about the infographic and pushed back against the idea that the museum perpetuated anti-American ideology.
Jonah Gutterman, right, and his parents outside the African American Museum on Saturday.
Shedrick Pelt/For The Washington Post
Jonah Gutterman, a 22-year-old American University student, had been to the museum a handful of times before and wanted to share the experience with his parents, who were visiting from New Jersey for the National Cherry Blossom Festival. The family spent most of their time in the museum's lowest level,
which
focuses on the history of slavery. Gutterman said that he appreciated learning about aspects of American history that weren't emphasized in his public school curriculum.
'I actually think it's incredible to look at these exhibits and see how far we've come as a society and progressed,' Gutterman said. 'But I think trying to censor or prevent people from seeing certain material, I think, can be super harmful and is not a good path to go down.'
A handful of museumgoers discussed the executive order as they perused the exhibits, but the vast majority - like old co-workers-turned-friends Arnetta Farrow, 74, and Elise Jackson, 60 - were cherry blossom tourists with no knowledge of the controversy. The former flight attendants flew from Chicago to D.C. to witness the nation's capital in bloom and decided to grab tickets inside the museum, a place that the two Black women had visited twice before. They learned of the executive order at the museum Saturday and reacted with dismay.
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Derrick Braxton outside the African American Museum on Saturday.
Shedrick Pelt/For The Washington Post
Jackson immediately texted a group of fellow Black women the news, writing: 'This is a place where I can come to enjoy learning and reminiscing about my heritage.'
'That museum is a very special place for EVERYONE to learn about our history!!! HE BETTER NOT TOUCH IT!!!' one of her friends responded, referring to Trump.
When the National Museum of African American History and Culture opened in 2016, it was heralded as a 'dream come true' by those who spent years fighting for its existence. Advocates and lawmakers had spent more than a hundred years trying to establish Washington's first museum dedicated to African American history and culture before President George W. Bush signed a bill in 2003 authorizing the museum.
The museum is now one of the Smithsonian's most popular attractions, according to data from the institution, with more than 12 million visitors since it opened in September 2016. As one of the smaller museums on the mall, it's the only attraction to require timed-entry tickets due to high demand.
The scene on Saturday.
Shedrick Pelt/For The Washington Post
Trump's edict marks his latest attempt to mold Washington's cultural life, following his decision last month to purge the Kennedy Center board of his predecessor's appointees and install himself as chairman. Some at the museum Saturday were uncertain what increased government oversight of the museum would look like.
'What oversight can you have over it now?' Derrick Braxton, 35, said outside the museum Saturday. 'You've had millions of people come in and out of this building. The knowledge you're trying to contain and put back in the ground is already out there.'
Many Black visitors said the museum, which highlights the discrepancy between the freedom promised in America's founding and the injustices African Americans have faced for centuries, felt especially important to protect. Mother-daughter duo Maggie and Bri'Anne Wright said they left the museum reflecting on their heritage - both the parts they celebrate today and the parts that have been lost over the years.
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'I feel like as a Black American,' Maggie Wright said, 'you erased enough already.'
A display inside the National Museum of African Art.
Kevin Dietsch/Getty
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