Latest news with #SarahWeicksel
CNN
a day ago
- Politics
- CNN
Trump's ‘chilling effect' is coming for museums, historians warn
Historians and researchers are expressing 'grave concern' about President Trump's push to purge museums of information he dislikes. 'Such political interference stands to impose a single and flawed view of American history onto the Smithsonian, placing at risk the integrity and accuracy of historical interpretation,' Sarah Weicksel, executive director of the American Historical Association, told CNN Wednesday. 'Such actions diminish our shared past and threaten to erode the public's trust in our shared institutions.' Weicksel said she has been fielding messages of concern not just from fellow historians, but also from people with no professional affiliations. 'Many of them are parents who are concerned about the Smithsonian's future,' she said. 'Others are frequent museum visitors.' On Tuesday, Trump called museums 'the last remaining segment of 'WOKE'' and said, 'We are not going to allow this to happen.' He was seemingly following up on last week's letter from the White House informing the Smithsonian Institution of a content 'review' that would aim to 'ensure alignment with the president's directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.' That announcement prompted the American Alliance of Museums, which represents 35,000 professionals in the sector, to speak out against 'growing threats of censorship against US museums.' 'This is not just a concern for select institutions,' like the Smithsonian, the group said. 'These pressures can create a chilling effect across the entire museum sector.' The American Association for State and Local History argued in a statement that the Trump administration's broader goal is to 'delegitimize the work of the history field and to rob the public of its ability to learn from the past.' 'Censoring and manipulating content to fit a predetermined, triumphalist narrative is the antithesis of historical practice and a disservice to us all,' the association said. The ultimate danger 'is that you get an incomplete picture of what happened in the country,' Annette Gordon-Reed, the Pulitzer-winning Harvard historian, said on CNN's 'Anderson Cooper 360.' 'If you can't learn from history, if you don't know what actually happened,' Gordon-Reed said. 'So, it's a way of keeping people ignorant of the past.' Trump's follow-up message on Truth Social said, 'We have the 'HOTTEST' Country in the World, and we want people to talk about it, including in our Museums.' The president said he had directed attorneys to 'go through the Museums' and 'start the exact same process that has been done with colleges and universities where tremendous progress has been made.' In some ways, his rhetoric is a continuation of a fight that liberals and conservatives have been having for decades about how much to emphasize America's sins versus its strengths. 'America's national museums have been captured by a niche ideological faction that believes that Western civilization, and, indeed, our nation, is irredeemable,' the editors of the conservative publication National Review wrote last week. 'If the White House gets this review right, it can help make the Smithsonian a cultural gem that all Americans can once again take pride in.' Weicksel and other leaders in the field argue that Americans already have a great deal of trust in museums and historical sites, and MAGA-style ideological meddling will diminish that trust. 'Across numerous surveys, a majority of Americans consistently say they want a full, honest, and unvarnished presentation of our nation's history,' the Organization of American Historians said in a statement last week. The organization predicted that the administration's review would 'undoubtedly be in service of authoritarian control over the national narrative, collective memory, and national collections.' The Smithsonian is not part of the executive branch, but it is federally funded, and it has a Board of Regents that includes the vice president. The institution began a review of its own in June, and last week it said that it would 'continue to collaborate constructively' with the White House. Dozens of groups representing historians came to the Smithsonian's defense back in March when a Trump executive order disparaged the institution, presaging this month's actions. 'Our goal is neither criticism nor celebration; it is to understand — to increase our knowledge of — the past in ways that can help Americans to shape the future,' the groups said in an open letter. 'The stories that have shaped our past include not only elements that make us proud but also aspects that make us acutely aware of tragedies in our nation's history,' the letter continued. 'No person, no nation, is perfect, and we should all — as individuals and as nations — learn from our imperfections.'
CNN
a day ago
- Politics
- CNN
Trump's ‘chilling effect' is coming for museums, historians warn
Historians and researchers are expressing 'grave concern' about President Trump's push to purge museums of information he dislikes. 'Such political interference stands to impose a single and flawed view of American history onto the Smithsonian, placing at risk the integrity and accuracy of historical interpretation,' Sarah Weicksel, executive director of the American Historical Association, told CNN Wednesday. 'Such actions diminish our shared past and threaten to erode the public's trust in our shared institutions.' Weicksel said she has been fielding messages of concern not just from fellow historians, but also from people with no professional affiliations. 'Many of them are parents who are concerned about the Smithsonian's future,' she said. 'Others are frequent museum visitors.' On Tuesday, Trump called museums 'the last remaining segment of 'WOKE'' and said, 'We are not going to allow this to happen.' He was seemingly following up on last week's letter from the White House informing the Smithsonian Institution of a content 'review' that would aim to 'ensure alignment with the president's directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.' That announcement prompted the American Alliance of Museums, which represents 35,000 professionals in the sector, to speak out against 'growing threats of censorship against US museums.' 'This is not just a concern for select institutions,' like the Smithsonian, the group said. 'These pressures can create a chilling effect across the entire museum sector.' The American Association for State and Local History argued in a statement that the Trump administration's broader goal is to 'delegitimize the work of the history field and to rob the public of its ability to learn from the past.' 'Censoring and manipulating content to fit a predetermined, triumphalist narrative is the antithesis of historical practice and a disservice to us all,' the association said. The ultimate danger 'is that you get an incomplete picture of what happened in the country,' Annette Gordon-Reed, the Pulitzer-winning Harvard historian, said on CNN's 'Anderson Cooper 360.' 'If you can't learn from history, if you don't know what actually happened,' Gordon-Reed said. 'So, it's a way of keeping people ignorant of the past.' Trump's follow-up message on Truth Social said, 'We have the 'HOTTEST' Country in the World, and we want people to talk about it, including in our Museums.' The president said he had directed attorneys to 'go through the Museums' and 'start the exact same process that has been done with colleges and universities where tremendous progress has been made.' In some ways, his rhetoric is a continuation of a fight that liberals and conservatives have been having for decades about how much to emphasize America's sins versus its strengths. 'America's national museums have been captured by a niche ideological faction that believes that Western civilization, and, indeed, our nation, is irredeemable,' the editors of the conservative publication National Review wrote last week. 'If the White House gets this review right, it can help make the Smithsonian a cultural gem that all Americans can once again take pride in.' Weicksel and other leaders in the field argue that Americans already have a great deal of trust in museums and historical sites, and MAGA-style ideological meddling will diminish that trust. 'Across numerous surveys, a majority of Americans consistently say they want a full, honest, and unvarnished presentation of our nation's history,' the Organization of American Historians said in a statement last week. The organization predicted that the administration's review would 'undoubtedly be in service of authoritarian control over the national narrative, collective memory, and national collections.' The Smithsonian is not part of the executive branch, but it is federally funded, and it has a Board of Regents that includes the vice president. The institution began a review of its own in June, and last week it said that it would 'continue to collaborate constructively' with the White House. Dozens of groups representing historians came to the Smithsonian's defense back in March when a Trump executive order disparaged the institution, presaging this month's actions. 'Our goal is neither criticism nor celebration; it is to understand — to increase our knowledge of — the past in ways that can help Americans to shape the future,' the groups said in an open letter. 'The stories that have shaped our past include not only elements that make us proud but also aspects that make us acutely aware of tragedies in our nation's history,' the letter continued. 'No person, no nation, is perfect, and we should all — as individuals and as nations — learn from our imperfections.'
