'There Is No Future In Forgetting': Watch Great Americans Medal Recipient Ava DuVernay's Smithsonian Speech
'Let us remind those who try to 'restore' a narrow, divisive past, that the future belongs to the whole of us,' said Great Americans Medal recipient Ava DuVernay to a Washington DC crowd this week upon receiving the honor from the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.
Rebuking those who 'fear…the full American story told in its dazzling complexity and devastating contradictions,' the Academy Award nominee also noted 'history is not a weapon to be sheathed when inconvenient. It is not a bedtime story meant to lull us to sleep. It is a river, flowing… deep and often turbulent.'
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Putting it very bluntly, DuVernay told the crowd: There is no future in forgetting.
While never directly mentioning Donald Trump by name in her May 8 remarks, DuVernay characteristically made her point extremely clear to anyone picking up what she was putting down about his ongoing MAGA attacks on democracy, diversity and the Smithsonian itself. Stating that 'now at a time when truth itself is under revision,' the filmmaker and activist starkly added: 'We know that what is sometimes labeled improper ideology is in fact connective, that what some call distorted is simply a new perspective, long buried, now revealed.'
Joining past Great Americans Award recipients Gen. Colin Powell, Thomas J. Brokaw, Ex-Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright, Cal Ripken Jr., Billie Jean King, Paul Simon, Anthony Fauci, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (posthumously) and YoYo Ma, DuVernay is the 10th person to be given the honor. The ARRAY founder is also 'the first director, writer and producer to receive the award,' according to the Smithsonian. Emmy, BAFTA and Peabody Award winner DuVernay was chosen this year because of 'her lifetime contributions embodying American ideas and ideals,' the Smithsonian said in its announcement of the award.
Watch the career spanning Honoree video that preceded DuVernay's speech here:
'DuVernay's extraordinary impact through the medium of film, using it to cast an unflinching eye on American history brought her forward as someone who exemplifies the highest ideals of artistry, altruism and advocacy,' the museum's Elizabeth MacMillan Director Anthea M. Hartig said of the Origin director in presenting the award. 'Her service and achievements embody the true meaning of a Great American.'
Read Ava DuVernay's full Smithsonian speech here:
Thank you to the National Museum of American History, Dr. Hartig and the remarkable leadership of the Smithsonian for bestowing upon me this truly incredible honor. It is not lost on me – what it means to stand in this place, supported by an institution that understands the weight of history… and the wonder of telling it well.
That understanding feels especially urgent now, at a time when truth itself is under revision… and fear feels like an animating force.
Fear of mirrors. Fear of memory.
Fear of the full American story told in its dazzling complexity and devastating contradictions.
History is not a weapon to be sheathed when inconvenient. It is not a bedtime story meant to lull us to sleep. It is a river, flowing… deep and often turbulent. And the Smithsonian has long been the bridge that lets us cross with care.
We know that what is sometimes labeled 'improper ideology' is in fact connective. That what some call 'distorted' is simply a new perspective—long buried, now revealed.
Let me tell you about the child who walks into the Smithsonian and sees a photograph of a woman who looks like her mother, who looks like her grandmother, standing tall in protest, or in prayer, or in pride.
Let me tell you about the teacher who brings students here because their textbooks will not speak of redlining, or Tulsa, or internment camps, or Stonewall. Let me tell you about the families—Black, white, brown, immigrant, native—who walk through those doors and feel that this country might make room for all of them.
That is not indoctrination.
That is belonging.
That is education.
That is democracy.
And at the helm of this bastion of truth stands a man of vision, a man of class, of fortitude, secretary, doctor extravagant —Dr. Lonnie Bunch. The first historian to lead the Smithsonian. The first African American to do so. A curator of courage. A guardian of good. A builder of bridges between pain and progress.
Under his stewardship, the Smithsonian has done what America must continue to do—confront the contradictions in our founding, illuminate the fault lines in our systems, and still hold space for grace, for grit, for growth, for greatness.
Because here the truth is… There is no honor in history that flatters itself. There is no integrity in memory that only remembers some. And there is no future in forgetting.
To those who would close their eyes to injustice, who would silence the voices of our elders, our ancestors, our scholars, our artists —I offer this:
We will not comply with forgetting. We will not make myths in place of memory. We will not trade the truth for comfort.
Instead, we will gather.
We will remember.
We will teach.
We will share.
We will tell it all.
Let us hold that line.
And let us remind those who try to 'restore' a narrow, divisive past — That the future belongs to the whole of us. And even when the current swell is upon us, the bridge will hold, because truth deserves passage. And with the Smithsonian and this museum, we do not cross alone.
Thank you for tonight, very much.
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On May 18, Lively's team filed a motion in New York's Southern District Court that alleged Baldoni's lawyer made the claim that she extorted Swift as a way "to seed harassing media narratives" against the actress. 'These public attacks, combined with the Rule 11 Plaintiffs filing numerous claims against Ms. Lively without any basis in law or fact, is willfully improper and warrants sanctions,' the legal document read, per the Wrap. Lively's team also filed a second motion to compel Wayfarer Studios to hand over documents and recordings from what they call a "disingenuous charade" of an investigation into her sexual harassment on the It Ends With Us set. The filing accuses Wayfarer of failing to properly investigate her allegations, which include Baldoni allegedly discussing his sex life and staging improvised intimacy scenes without her consent. Her team argues that if a real investigation had taken place in 2023, it would have validated her claims — and that Lively would have been "spared the retaliatory smear campaign" she alleges Baldoni incited in its wake. However, on May 22, the subpoena against Swift was dropped. A spokesperson for Lively confirmed that Baldoni's legal team has withdrawn subpoenas issued to Swift and her legal counsel — a move the spokesperson says they are pleased with. "We supported the efforts of Taylor's team to quash these inappropriate subpoenas directed to her counsel, and we will continue to stand up for any third party who is unjustly harassed or threatened in the process," the spokesperson said in a statement obtained by People. The statement also criticized the Baldoni and Wayfarer team's handling of the case, suggesting they had attempted to use Swift's fame for strategic advantage. "The Baldoni and Wayfarer team have tried to put Taylor Swift, a woman who has been an inspiration for tens of millions across the globe, at the center of this case since day one," the spokesperson said. "Exploiting Taylor Swift's celebrity was the original plan in Melissa Nathan's scenario planning document, and it continues to this day. Faced with having to justify themselves in federal court, they folded. At some point they will run out of distractions from the actual claims of sexual harassment and retaliation they are facing." Baldoni also called out Reynolds's Marvel movie for allegedly attempting to damage his reputation — specifically with the character of Nicepool, portrayed by Reynolds but credited under the name 'Gordon Reynolds.' In the film Deadpool & Wolverine, Nicepool is an alternative version of Reynolds's sarcastic superhero Deadpool who sports long hair and a bun similar to a style worn by Baldoni in the past. 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Baldoni's lawyer Freedman addressed the moment on Billy Bush's podcast, calling it 'surprising' that they would joke about such serious matters. At the 2025 Time100 Gala on April 24, where Lively was an honored guest after making its list of most influential people, she spoke about using her voice for good, saying, 'Who and what we stand up for, and what we stay silent about, what we monetize versus what we actually live, matters.' She also hinted at her legal battle, stating, 'I have so much to say about the last two years of my life, but tonight is not the forum.' In a May appearance on Late Night With Seth Meyers to promote Another Simple Favor, Lively also spoke about using her voice for change. 'What I can say without getting too much into it is that this year has been full of the highest highs and the lowest lows of my life,' Lively told Meyers. 'And I see so many women around, afraid to speak — especially right now — afraid to share their experiences. And fear is by design. It's what keeps us silent. But I also acknowledge that many people don't have the opportunity to speak. So I do feel fortunate that I've been able to. It's the women who have had the ability to use their voice that's kept me strong and helped me in my belief and my fight for the world to be safer for women and girls.' According to court documents, on June 2, Lively chose to withdraw her emotional distress claims against Baldoni, which came after the director's legal team requested access to Lively's medical records. They argued the records were central to her allegations of emotional distress. Baldoni's team stated that rather than hand over her records, Lively is withdrawing her emotional distress claim, court papers cited by Variety stated. However, Lively wants to withdraw the claims without prejudice, meaning she could refile them later should she change her mind — something that Baldoni's team has pushed back against. Baldoni's team argued that Lively is both refusing to disclose the documents needed to disprove that she suffered emotional distress, and/or that Baldoni and his production company were the cause. However, at the same time, she is maintaining the right to refile the claim "at an unknown time in this or some other court after the discovery window has closed.' As of now, they have reached an impasse. Lively's lawyers refuted that, stating that Baldoni's lawyers are not accurate in Lively refusing to hand over these documents. Instead, they said the team is "intentionally misleading to the Court" and that their "intended audience" for this "false record" was the public, alleging that Baldoni's lawyers are using this as a way to spin negative press about the actress. They stated that they are dropping the emotional distress claim to focus on other charges in court. 'Once again, this is a routine part of the litigation process that is being used as a press stunt. We are doing what trial lawyers do: preparing our case for trial by streamlining and focusing it; they are doing what they do: desperately seeking another tired round of tabloid coverage,' they said, according to TMZ. Lively's team stated that Lively still 'alleged emotional distress, as part of numerous other claims in her lawsuit, such as sexual harassment and retaliation, and massive additional compensatory damages on all of her claims.'
