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Boston Globe
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
What might be lost in Trump's war against the Smithsonian and the nation's ugliest truth
President Trump's executive order in March threatened Smithsonian funding and accused it of "race-centered ideology." Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Advertisement Is this what might be lost by President Trump's escalating attacks on the Smithsonian Institution, reiterated just this week with a post that accused it of being too focused on 'how bad slavery was?' He didn't mention the Smithsonian's African American museum by name, but it is the most prominent keeper of the nation's ugliest and most difficult history. Advertisement It's too soon to tell, but it seems like a fair bet. Trump's post comes just one week after he announced a comprehensive review of the entire constellation of the Smithsonian. His He complained that museums across the country had similar priorities, unacceptable to him, and said in the same post that he would 'start the exact same process that has been done with Colleges and Universities.' How far he can reach into other institutions, such as the Museum of Fine Arts and the Metropolitan Museum in New York, the vast majority of which operate as private nonprofits with scant federal funding, remains to be seen. The Smithsonian is another story. Drawing more than 60 percent of its funding from the federal government makes it uniquely vulnerable to the administration in power. A unique governing structure — But if the last seven months have taught us anything, it is that the Trump administration isn't much for rules in pursuit of its ends. The only specific element of Trump's order itself liaison with the administration. Museum officials were also told to prepare for on-site inspections of all current exhibitions and displays. Within 120 days, all of its museums will have to revise any materials the administration deems unfit for its view of 'unifying, historically accurate, and constructive descriptions' of American culture. Advertisement The intent seems plain. This is a presidential administration that made its cultural priorities clear from the outset, beginning on Trump's first day in office with Since then, its The Smithsonian's famous red-brick Arts and Industries Building on the National president's demands of the Smithsonian writ large are a shockwave for a vast, sprawling set of public institutions long at the forefront of American culture. The Smithsonian, a complex body of 21 museums (eight of which are under the immediate federal review), 14 research agencies, and one zoo, was founded with a $500,000 gift in 1829, when the British chemist and mineralogist James Smithson left his entire fortune to the country to build 'an establishment for the increase and diffusion of knowledge among men' in the young nation's capitol. Advertisement The Smithsonian now describes itself as 'the world's largest museum, education, and research complex,' and it would be hard to find opinions to the contrary. Spanning every facet of science, history, and culture, the various Smithsonians are lined up on the National Mall in Washington, often two deep: From t The National Museum of African American History and Culture is one of seven flagship museums the Trump administration has targeted for review. Mark Schiefelbein/Associated Press Until the change in administration, the Smithsonian had been in an expansionist mode. The African American museum, an intricate architectural jewel designed by Adjaye and Associates, Site scouting and fund-raising for both museums is well underway, though their fates are far from assured. The Heritage Foundation, Advertisement The regressive attacks are anathema to institutions that have been at the fore of reimagining American culture as changing and dynamic in the 21st century. In 2004, the Smithsonian opened the National Museum of the American Indian, breaking off its Indigenous collections from its Natural History wing to better acknowledge Native American culture not as an anthropological pursuit, The Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian broke new ground in portraying Indigenous culture. LAWRENCE JACKSON The Smithsonian's African American museum did much the same a decade later, confronting perhaps the most visceral element of American culture. With dignity, humanity, and grace, it faced the legacy of enslavement with a bedrock of historical fact. It, too, pioneered a model. In Charleston, S.C., Advertisement This is what you have to hope a national museum does: set standards less encumbered by the occasional predilections of wealthy donors, more free to represent a fulsome view of a dynamic national culture forever in flux. And though the administration's intentions for the Smithsonians lack detail, it's this dynamic flux it appears most intent on quashing in favor of a neater, sanitized view. Even before the edicts of the past week, there have been signs the Smithsonian is beginning to buckle under the pressure. In July, Amy Sherald's "Trans Forming Liberty," 2024, on view at the Whitney Museum of American Art in April. Murray Whyte The executive order in March demanded, broadly, the Smithsonian do away with 'divisive narratives.' Other agencies offer a clue to what that might mean. In April, the National Park Service, on its web page for And what to make of the administration's unbound use of social media, where its Department of Homeland Security Coupled with i If that aesthetic flows into the Smithsonian complex, it would be an undoing of generations of scholarly progress. It would also be a decoupling of American culture from the institutions founded to celebrate it. However far it goes, the real work will go on in the Museums of Fine Arts, the Mets, and other nonprofits whose devotion to an evolving notion of America has, if anything, redoubled in the era of Trump. That will no doubt raise his ire and leave him grasping for ways to mete out punishment — revoking nonprofit status, The administration may well succeed in crippling beloved institutions in the Smithsonian sphere, but the result will be only to make them irrelevant and apart from a culture that will march forward without them. Murray Whyte can be reached at
CBS News
13-06-2025
- Politics
- CBS News
"No Kings" protests planned across Southern California on Saturday
While President Trump attends a military parade for the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army on Saturday, which coincides with his 79th birthday, hundreds of protests are planned nationwide. The movement, "No Kings," is designed as a "nationwide day of defiance" in counter to Mr. Trump's parade, according to organizers. "On June 14—Flag Day—President Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday," the "No Kings" website reads. "A spectacle meant to look like strength. But real power isn't staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else." WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 09: Marine One lands at the White House with U.S. President Donald Trump behind workers putting up a riser in front of the White House ahead of the Army's 250th birthday parade and celebration on June 09, 2025 in Washington, DC. The U.S. Army will mark its 250th anniversary with a parade along the National Mall that will include 6,500 troops, 150 vehicles and 50 aircraft. Kayla Bartkowski / Getty Images In response to the planned gatherings, Mr. Trump told reporters that he doesn't "feel like a king." "I have to go through hell to get stuff approved," he said. Organizers say nonviolence is the "core principle" of gatherings and pleaded with attendees to leave weapons at home and de-escalate any conflicts. The "No Kings" protests are scheduled in all 50 states, parts of Canada, Mexico, South America, Europe and even Africa. Dozens of protests are planned across Southern California on Saturday in response to the military parade being held in Washington D.C. No Kings website Locally in Southern California, dozens of "No Kings" protests are planned. A full list of events can be found here, but some are listed below: Los Angeles County Ventura County Orange County Inland Empire
Toronto Sun
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Toronto Sun
D.C. prepares for military parade with miles of fencing, dozens of magnetometers
Published Jun 09, 2025 • 2 minute read Workers put up temporary fencing ahead of the U.S. army's 250th birthday parade and celebration around the White House on Monday, June 9, 2025, in Washington, D.C. The U.S. army will mark its 250th anniversary with a parade along the National Mall that will include 6,500 troops, 150 vehicles and 50 aircraft. Photo by Kayla Bartkowski / Getty Images WASHINGTON — As the nation's capital cleans up from the culmination of World Pride this past weekend, focus now shifts to a very different massive event — Saturday's military parade to honour the 250th birthday of the army and the 79th birthday of President Donald Trump. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account 'We're preparing for an enormous turnout,' said Matt McCool of the Secret Service's Washington Field office, who said more than 28 km of 'anti-scale fencing' would be erected and 'multiple drones' would be in the air. The entire District of Columbia is normally a no-fly zone for drones. Army officials have estimated about 200,000 attendees for the evening military parade, and McCool said he was prepared for 'hundreds of thousands' of people. 'We have a ton of magnetometers,' he said. 'If a million people show up, then we're going to have some lines.' A total of 175 magnetometers would be used at security checkpoints controlling access to the daytime birthday festival and the nighttime parade. Metropolitan Police Department chief Pamela Smith predicted 'major impacts to traffic' and advised attendees to arrive early and consider forgoing cars for the Metro. Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. 'This is a significant event with a large footprint,' she said. 'We're relying on the public to be an extra set of ears and eyes for us.' The military parade has been designated a National Special Security Event — similar to a presidential inauguration or state funeral. That status is reserved for events that draw large crowds and potential mass protests. It calls for an enhanced degree of high-level co-ordination among D.C. officials, the FBI, Capitol Police and Washington's National Guard contingent — with the Secret Service taking the lead. RECOMMENDED VIDEO The army birthday celebration had already been planned for months. But earlier this spring, Trump announced his intention to transform the event — which coincides with his 79th birthday — into a massive military parade complete with 60-ton M1 Abrams battle tanks and Paladin self-propelled howitzers rolling through the city streets. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Multiple counter-protests of varying sizes are planned for Saturday, with the largest being a mass march to the White House dubbed the No Kings rally. Officials say they are also on alert for signs that the immigration-related clashes between law enforcement and protesters currently roiling Los Angeles would spread. 'We're paying attention, obviously, to what is happening there. We'll be ready,' McCool said. 'We have a robust plan for civil disobedience.' Agent Phillip Bates of the FBI's Washington Field office, which is tasked with counterterrorism and crisis management, said there were 'no credible threats' to the event at the moment. Lindsey Appiah, the deputy mayor for public safety, told The Associated Press last week that the city had longstanding plans for the army birthday celebration. But those plans 'got a lot bigger on short notice' when Trump got involved. Still, Appiah said the city has grown 'very flexible, very nimble' at rolling with these sort of changes. Read More Toronto Blue Jays Olympics Columnists Ontario Canada
Newsweek
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Parents Deserve Choices, but Not at Public Schools' Expense
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Public education is the great equalizer. Like millions of American students across the country today, growing up, I had only what my neighborhood school provided. And, in my case, it was a good start. It allowed an economically disadvantaged English learner to go on to earn a doctorate and advise the president of the United States. Still, I believe in school choice. In fact, I am a product of school choice. I chose to attend a public technical high school instead of the traditional neighborhood option. Thirty years later, I believe that choice helped me get to the position of secretary of education. My career as an educator—and, more importantly, as a father—confirms my belief that every parent should have options on how to educate their children. Whether they have chosen public schools, independent schools, parochial/religious schools, charter or magnet schools, I have seen students flourish. What I do not believe in is reducing public education dollars to fund vouchers or academic scholarships to private institutions. While many of those institutions do great work preparing students, they take funding from underperforming schools that are so cash-strapped that they are already unable to provide students basic services or adequate learning conditions. Community members hold signs and rally in front of the Department of Education to protest budget cuts on March 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. Community members hold signs and rally in front of the Department of Education to protest budget cuts on March 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty In fact, the national proliferation of voucher programs is contributing to the defunding of public education, an effort that the current administration seems to be accelerating with their policies. The impact of this will be felt in many ways, not least our country's stand in the world, which will be dependent on the decisions that are made in education in the next few years. We are at a fork in the road. Do we continue to defund public schools at a time when teachers make on average 24 percent less than other professionals with similar degrees? When students' academic and mental health needs are at crisis level? When facilities are crumbling around our children's heads, as I saw when I visited schools in all 50 states as secretary? School and district leaders had decisions to make such as whether to fix a broken air handling system or hire a reading teacher to help students who are performing two years behind. Recruiting and retaining educators is very challenging given the lack of respect our public schools and educators are getting. What happens when we run out of highly qualified teachers and leaders? We risk academic progress, we risk safety, we even risk schools closing because we do not have enough staff—remember the 2021 COVID-19 Omicron wave? Closed schools are bad for kids and bad for the economy. Will we invest in the supports our schools need, such as robust arts programs, intervention and enrichment programs for all students, emotional and behavioral support for the students who struggle the most, highly qualified and supported educators, and ample college and career pathways so our students graduate with options, like I did? Education Secretary Miguel Cardona testifies during the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies hearing on the "FY2024 Request for the United States Department of Education," in Rayburn Building... Education Secretary Miguel Cardona testifies during the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies hearing on the "FY2024 Request for the United States Department of Education," in Rayburn Building on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. More Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty If we continue down the path of subsidizing for-profit schools, we will turn a public good into a commercial product whose benefit will be measured by profits, not equitable student outcomes. We know that it costs more to educate students with disabilities. It costs more to educate students who are suffering from trauma or have mental health needs. It costs more to support students who have reading difficulties, or are learning English. If the goal of privatizing education through vouchers is to make a profit, it would be less desirable to accept students who cost more to educate. What we would end up with are school vouchers being used for "desirable" students in private schools, while the students with greater needs are left behind in sinking public schools that were already underfunded. In 2024, I visited a school district in Indiana whose superintendent told me that she had to take $12 million out of her operating budget for vouchers. Despite the great need in her district, she now had to subsidize private education with her taxpayer-funded allocation. A school principal in the same district told me that despite the private schools getting and keeping the money, the parents of some students with disabilities were told to return their child to their local public school to ensure they received adequate services. In other words, their children were too expensive to educate. I believe we must not fall down the rabbit hole of vouchers. Yes, school choice is important and private schools should be an option—but public education dollars should not be used to ensure access to prestigious schools to the families with the greatest influence or best lawyers. Nor should paying for these private options use the funding that is currently allocated to allow students to receive after-school tutoring, join a math club or share their talents on the stage or athletic field. While the work to improve the outcomes and efficacy of public education is ongoing and critical, imagine what is possible for our country when we fully invest in the education of all students to reach their God-given potential. ▸ Miguel Cardona is a lifelong educator and president of Cardona Solutions. He most recently served as U.S. secretary of education under President Joe Biden.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
162 House Democrats Urge HHS to Restore Title X Funds
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services building is seen on March 27, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Credit - Kayla Bartkowski—Getty Images More than 150 House Democrats signed a letter sent to U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on April 3, calling for the department to undo the freeze on millions of dollars allocated for family planning services. The letter, shared exclusively with TIME, comes after HHS confirmed this week that it is withholding Title X funds from 16 organizations 'pending an evaluation of possible violations' of federal civil rights laws and President Donald Trump's Executive Order declaring that undocumented immigrants are barred 'from obtaining most taxpayer-funded benefits.' Title X is the nation's only federally funded program dedicated solely to family planning, and each year allocates millions of dollars for clinics that provide birth control, cancer screenings, STI testing, and other health care services for people from low-income households. HHS did not respond to TIME's questions earlier this week about the details of the 'possible violations,' how much money was being withheld from the affected organizations, and which organizations were being hit by the funding freeze. It also did not respond to a further request for comment today, April 3. More than $200 million is allocated for Title X annually. On March 25, the Wall Street Journal reported that HHS was considering freezing $27.5 million of those Title X funds. One of the largest Title X providers, Planned Parenthood, said on March 31 that nine of its affiliates were informed by the federal government that their Title X funding was being withheld as of April 1. Read More: Trump Administration Freezes Critical Title X Funding for 16 Organizations The letter sent to Kennedy on April 3 was an effort led by seven House Democrats: Rep. Judy Chu, California; Rep. Diana DeGette, Colorado; Rep. Ayanna Pressley, Massachusetts; Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, New Mexico; Rep. Lizzie Fletcher, Texas; Rep. Sharice Davids, Kansas; and Rep. Nikema Williams, Georgia. The 162 House Democrats who signed it said in the letter that Title X has been 'a cornerstone of safety-net care' for decades. 'Championed by then-Congressman George H.W. Bush and signed into law by President Nixon, Title X allows a diverse network of providers to deliver high-quality care to low-income, uninsured, or underinsured individuals confidentially,' the letter said. 'These centers offer care to populations that often face severe structural and systemic barriers to accessing quality health care, including individuals with no or insufficient insurance and rural and underserved communities. Freezing funds for this essential program will harm communities that otherwise may not have access to care.' According to the letter, Title X-funded clinics provided services to 2.8 million people in 2023. In 2016, 60% of the women who received birth control from a clinic participating in the Title X program revealed that that was their only source of health care the year before, according to the letter. The letter also cited a report from the Guttmacher Institute, which researches and supports sexual and reproductive health and rights, that found that every dollar spent on Title X services saves $7 in Medicaid-related expenses. Reproductive rights experts have called the freeze 'absolutely devastating,' saying that Title X allows many people to access critical health care services they may not otherwise be able to afford. Experts at the Guttmacher Institute estimated that between 600,000 and 1.25 million people could be affected by the freeze annually. In the letter, the signatories also said they were 'outraged that reports suggest that this funding is being frozen because of claims that it might support 'diversity, equity, and inclusion.'' Essential Access Health, which distributes Title X funds to health care centers in California and Hawaii, said in a press release on April 1 that it was informed that its Title X funds were being temporarily withheld pending 'an inquiry regarding compliance with federal policy and practices related to civil rights and Executive Orders focused on DEI activities.' Trump signed an Executive Order on his first day in office that was aimed at dismantling DEI initiatives. 'This is another way of saying that this program is used to help people of color access care,' the letter said. 'Nearly half of the people served each year by Title X are people of color, the vast majority are people with low-incomes and most Title X users are women. A federal program's ability to provide care to people from historically marginalized and underserved communities does not make it wrong or illegal. To suggest otherwise implies that HHS would determine who is worthy of taxpayer dollars based on the color of their skin.' House Democrats who signed the letter urged Kennedy to restore all the Title X funding to the affected organizations, requesting a 'prompt reply to coordinate a meeting on this matter' and offering to introduce Kennedy to providers, community leaders, and patients who can speak to the importance of the federal program. 'We hope your agency will not be so reckless as to upend nearly half a century of bipartisan achievement and place Title X on the [Department of Government Efficiency] chopping block without hearing firsthand the consequences of that action,' the letter said. Contact us at letters@
