31-03-2025
Why Trump's Threat to D.C.'s African American Museum Should Have Everyone Shook
American history is under attack. In his latest scheme, President Donald Trump announced plans to 'restore truth and sanity to American history' by targeting the Smithsonian. What does this mean? Trump continues to gouge all things diversity, he plans to get rid of funding for museums and exhibits honoring the expansive history of the nation, which means the fate of Black history and culture is up in the air.
In an executive order, Trump named the National Museum of African American History and Culture (MAAHC) in Washington D.C. as 'under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.' Opened in 2016, the MAAHC is dedicated to telling the full story of the Black American experience, which is why Trump says the institution is a threat.
'The National Museum of African American History and Culture has proclaimed that 'hard work,' 'individualism,' and 'the nuclear family' are aspects of 'White culture,'' the order reads. Targeting its federal funding is just another example of the president trying to rid the nation of DEI, and to his credit, he's making good on that promise.
After banning DEI at the federal level, forcing agencies to close down their diversity offices, many accused the president of trying to 're-white' history, and after recent attacks on the Tuskegee Airmen and Jackie Robinson, it's clear that's exactly the plan. 'It is a five-alarm fire for public history, science and education in America,' Samuel Redman, a history professor at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, told the Guardian.
The Smithsonian database is also a notable, trusted and well-referenced global system, making Trump's attempt to have his hands in the entity even more nefarious. 'While the Smithsonian has faced crisis moments in the past, it has not been directly attacked in quite this way by the executive branch in its long history,' Redman continued. 'It's troubling and quite scary.'
While Trump has called out the MAAHC and the Smithsonian American Women's History Museum for so-called 'radical' narratives, he hasn't mentioned other museums who would be up for questioning. This begs the question: Will Trump keep the same energy and go after other museums supporting diversity? Or does he only have the smoke for Black folks and women?
The president hasn't yet dared question the fate of the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust, the National Museum of the American Indian or the Museum of the American Latino. But that doesn't mean there's no plans to add them to his hit list.
When you target the Smithsonian, a global organization operating in a public-private partnership, you can expect immediate backlash. So far, several politicians, historians, and activists have denounced the administration's attempt to regulate the Smithsonian.
Vice President JD Vance and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. are already members of the Smithsonian board by law, but it's important to note the executive branch has no authority over the institution. The Smithsonian gets most of its funding from private partnerships, but the federal government does allocate some money in the budget, according to its website.
In his order, Trump charged Vance 'to seek the appointment of citizen members to the Smithsonian Board of Regents committed to advancing the policy of this order.' Without the Smithsonian, which provides nearly two dozen museums free to the public, Americans and tourists won't have access to accurate accounts of history. But maybe that's the real plan for Trump's America.
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