Latest news with #StonewallRebellion
National Geographic
7 hours ago
- General
- National Geographic
These U.S. national parks and monuments honor the milestones of LGBTQ+ heritage
In the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City, the Gay Liberation Monument in Christopher Park near the Stonewall Inn pays homage to the historically pivotal Stonewall Rebellion, which included prominent gay rights activists including Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. Photograph by Ed Rooney, Alamy Stock Photo See the country's past through a distinctly queer lens at these National Park Service-managed destinations. Just as it turned 100 in 2016, America's National Park Service (NPS) began to officially recognize the contributions that LGBTQ+ Americans have made to the rich and diverse history of the United States. Given the groundbreaking importance of New York City's Stonewall Inn to global queer history, the National Park Service (NPS) fittingly named New York City's Stonewall National Monument as its first site dedicated to preserving LGBTQ+ heritage. Since then, several other NPS sites nationwide have been acknowledged both officially and unofficially for their important ties to the queer past. Stretched across the country and spanning many eras, these places tell inspirational stories of bravery and individualism that deepen our understanding of American history. All free to the public, visits to the following six NPS-managed sites illuminate legacies not just of LGBTQ+ America, but of America itself. Stonewall National Monument, New York City On a warm summer night in 1969, long-brewing tensions between New York's LGBTQ+ community and its police force finally came to a boil. In the face of yet another NYPD raid on Greenwich Village's Stonewall Inn in the early morning hours of June 28, frustrated bar-goers had finally had enough, and they put up a collective fight. The Stonewall rebellion raged on for days and swelled across the Village, marking the birth of the modern queer movement and making legends out of key participants like Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera. 'Stonewall was about the fundamental right to live authentically,' says Ann Marie Gothard, co-founder of the Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center. 'That spirit of resistance and the demand for equality still exist today. Stonewall serves as a reminder that progress isn't given, it is continually fought for. It also serves as a powerful reminder that we all stand on the shoulders of previous generations.' Established in 2016, the Stonewall National Monument became the first of its kind dedicated specifically to American LGBTQ+ rights and history. In addition to the Stonewall Inn, the monument encompasses Christopher Park and several surrounding streets where the 1969 riots took place. The interpretive Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center opened last year and includes innovative exhibits like the Mothers of STAR AR Experience, which brings trans and queer icons like Johnson and Rivera back into the Stonewall space. 'Through the Visitor Center, we hope to connect contemporary queer individuals to history while fostering a sense of belonging and community, prompting a call to action for continued progress toward full equality and acceptance for all,' says Gothard. Good to know: The Stonewall Visitor Center at 51 Christopher Street offers extended June opening hours for Pride month, Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Thursday to Sunday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Regular opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (See 100 years of LGBTQ history mapped across New York City.) Vicksburg National Military Park, Mississippi Visitors explore the Illinois State Memorial, based on Rome's Pantheon, at Vicksburg National Military Park in Miss. Although in secret, LGBTQ+ people served in the American Civil War, including transgender soldier Albert Cashier, who fought in Vicksburg and the Battle of Nashville. Photograph by Aaron Huey, Nat Geo Image Collection Waged for over six weeks in mid-1863, the Siege of Vicksburg in western Mississippi was one of the Civil War's most grueling and decisive conflicts. More than 110,000 soldiers from across the Union and Confederacy took part in the fighting, including 19-year-old Albert Cashier of the 95th Illinois Infantry. After the war, Cashier returned to Illinois and settled in the little town of Saunemin about 90 miles southwest of Chicago, where he lived quietly for decades—until his gender assigned at birth was revealed, threatening his military pension. 'Cashier served in Civil War fighting at Vicksburg, the Red River expedition, the Battle of Nashville, and more,' explains Rob Sanders, author of the children's book The Fighting Infantryman: The Story of Albert D.J. Cashier, Transgender Civil War Soldier. 'Every step this transgender soldier took during his three years of service was historic. In old age, when Albert's right to receive a military pension was questioned, the army finally declared in writing: 'Identity may be accepted.' Albert thus became the first transgender soldier in the United States to receive a military pension.' Today, the 2,500-acre Vicksburg National Military Park preserves the site of the siege, including 1,325 historic monuments and markers, a 16-mile tour road, and a 12.5-mile walking trail. The park's Illinois State Memorial, located on Union Avenue at milepost 1.8, honors Cashier and his fellow Illinoisan veterans of the siege. Good to know: The Vicksburg National Military Park Visitor Center at 3201 Clay Street is open Wednesday to Sunday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Vehicle access to the park's tour road is open daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., with last entry at 4:40 p.m. (7 places that honor LGBTQ+ history—during Pride Month and beyond.) President's Park, Washington, DC The District of Columbia's President's Park is arguably the most cherished of America's national parks, including as it does the White House, the official residence of the U.S. president. Less known to the general public is that President's Park also figures prominently in the LGBTQ+ history of DC and the nation. 'The history of President's Park illustrates the enormous progress gay men and lesbians have made in America, as well as the ways in which LGBT history is intertwined with the broader American story,' says James Kirchick, author of Secret City: The Hidden History of Gay Washington. 'Beginning in the late 19th century, directly across from the building where the most powerful man on earth resides, some of the capital's most despised citizens—gay men—congregated under cover of night in Lafayette Square,' Kirchick explains. 'For decades, the seven-acre grounds were the most popular nocturnal 'cruising' site in the city, a place for men leading secret lives to meet one another anonymously.' Later, President's Park would serve as the site of one of America's first protests for gay rights. 'On April 17, 1965, under the auspices of the Mattachine Society of Washington, a group of openly gay men and women met outside the White House to hold the first organized picket for gay rights on Pennsylvania Avenue,' Kirchick says. Good to know: The White House Visitor Center at 1450 Pennsylvania Avenue NW is open daily from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Celebrate Pride with 10 travel books by LGBTQ authors.) Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park, Richmond, California The Rosie the Riveter WWII Home Front National Historical Park in Richmond, Calif., highlights the experiences of LGBTQ+ people during the war in the on-site exhibition 'LGBTQ Histories: Stories from the WWII Home Front.' Photograph by Jason O. Watson, Alamy Stock Photo The national historical park commemorates cultural icon Rosie the Riveter, who inspired women to work in factories and shipyards to support the U.S. during the war. Photograph by Zachary Frank, Alamy Stock Photo She would go on to inspire generations of feminists, but Rosie the Riveter's status as a cultural icon began during World War II, when her bandana-clad, muscle-flexing character was created to inspire women to work in factories and shipyards in support of the American war effort. In 2000, the Rosie the Riveter World War II Home Front National Historical Park was established as a national park on the site of the former Richmond Shipyards near San Francisco. More ships were built at Richmond than at any other shipyard during World War II, and women made up much of its work force. Today, the park showcases the rich tapestry of Americans who came together to support the Allied cause. The exhibition 'LGBTQ Histories: Stories from the WWII Home Front,' created by independent public historian Donna Graves and now-retired park ranger Elizabeth Tucker, highlights the experiences of LGBTQ+ people in the San Francisco Bay area during the war. 'We believe it is the first LGBTQ+ exhibit at a national park, and it was opened to enthusiasm in 2016,' says Graves. 'I continue to be amazed at how it speaks to issues we address today, from housing and health care to climate change. Good to know: The Rosie the Riveter Visitor Education Center, located within the historic Ford Assembly Plant complex at 1414 Harbour Way South, is open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. (These monuments honor LGBTQ history around the world.) Fire Island National Seashore, Ocean Beach, New York Fire Island has been a popular LGBTQ+ travel destination since the 1930s. It's also home to the historic Fire Island Lighthouse built in 1858 and it features a keeper's house, scenic views, and walking/biking paths such as Fire Island Lighthouse Trail, a six-point-five mile out-and-back trail near Bay Shore. Photograph by John Geldermann, Alamy Stock Photo New Yorkers have been drawn for decades to Fire Island, the beachy 30-mile-long barrier island tucked just beneath Long Island. Twenty-six miles of it are now protected as Fire Island National Seashore, easily accessible by a half-hour ferry ride from the mainland. 'There are very few places like Fire Island, which has been a summer destination for queer people since as early as the 1930s,' explains Jack Parlett, author of Fire Island: A Century in the Life of an American Paradise. 'The communities of Cherry Grove and Fire Island Pines—both of which were initially developed with heterosexual families in mind—were transformed by the queer people from the city who discovered them and decided to make a home there.' These enclaves have been bastions of art, drag, disco, and sexual liberation, Parlett says. 'They have also weathered numerous challenges in the last century, from homophobic policing to the devastation of the HIV/AIDS epidemic,' he adds. 'Fire Island is also important to modern queer America, in part, because of its cultural heritage. It is a place where many beloved queer artists and writers have found solace, including James Baldwin, Patricia Highsmith and Frank O'Hara. Also, the parties are great.' Good to know: From mid-May to mid-October, visitors most commonly access Fire Island by ferry from the Long Island towns of Bay Shore, Sayville, or Patchogue, all reachable by car or the Long Island Railroad. (How historians are documenting the lives of transgender people.) Frances Perkins National Monument, Newcastle, Maine Her name might not be widely known, but all working Americans owe Frances Perkins a debt of gratitude. As Franklin Roosevelt's Secretary of Labor and the first woman to ever serve in a presidential cabinet, Perkins was instrumental in developing Social Security and forging federal relationships with labor unions. Perkins was one of only two Roosevelt cabinet members to serve for his entire 1933-1945 presidency, making her the longest-serving U.S. Labor Secretary in history. Established as a national monument in 2024—one of the newest in the National Park Service system—the Frances Perkins Homestead in Newcastle, Maine had been in the Perkins family since the mid-18th century. It now encompasses the Frances Perkins Center, dedicated to highlighting Perkins' achievements. 'Perkins was the most effective social progressive in American history, responsible for crafting workplace safety laws that are universal today,' says Kirstin Downey, author of The Woman Behind the New Deal, the definitive Perkins biography, 'and as the primary architect of the Social Security program, which has provided an economic bedrock for generations of Americans.' Downey says Perkins' complex personal life included a marriage to a man and a series of intense relationships with women who shared her progressive ideals. 'She was probably the first [cabinet member] to live openly with a person of the same sex, Mary Harriman Rumsey,' Downey adds. 'She was supportive and encouraging of same-sex relationships, which she viewed as marriages.' Good to know: Accessible only by car, the Frances Perkins National Monument is located at 478 River Road. The Brick House residence remains closed for restorations during 2025, but from June 19 to September 28, the Welcome Center and Homestead Barn will be open Thursday to Sunday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The grounds are open daily from sunrise to sunset. Dan Allen is a Los Angeles-based writer focusing on travel, culture and queer history. Follow him on Instagram @danquests.
Time Out
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
L.A. Pride 2025: Everything you need to know
With L.A. Pride's move out of West Hollywood and into Hollywood, and the arrival of WeHo Pride in the former city, L.A. is now lucky enough to have two inclusive festivals celebrating the city's LGBTQ+ community. Here, we'll be filling you in on all the details about L.A. Pride, the long-running festival and parade that dates back to 1970—making it the first event of its kind to commemorate New York's Stonewall Rebellion. But if you're wondering what's up with WeHo's own event, don't worry, we'll point you in the right direction for that celebration as well—along with even more major Pride Month events, plus our favorite party spots for divas and drag queens alike. When is L.A. Pride 2025? L.A. Pride returns on Sunday, June 8, 2025 with a block party on Hollywood Boulevard—and that's the same day the L.A. Pride Parade will step off in Hollywood. Note that L.A. Pride in the Park, a concert that's taken place at L.A. State Historic Park the past few years, won't be happening this year. When is the L.A. Pride Parade? The L.A. Pride Parade occurs on Sunday, June 8 in Hollywood, at the site of the first permitted gay parade in the world (back in 1970). The parade is staged along Hollywood Boulevard, Highland Avenue and Cahuenga Boulevard, and starts at 11am. This year's grand marshals include Niecy Nash and Jessica Betts, Andrew Rannells and TrinoxAdam. Following the parade, you'll find live entertainment, local vendors and food and drinks along Hollywood Boulevard at the mid-day Parade Block Party. See all of the details, including street closures, in our full guide to the L.A. Pride Parade. Where can I watch the parade? The parade steps off at Sunset Boulevard and Highland Avenue and heads north on Highland before turning east onto Hollywood Boulevard. From there, it follows Hollywood until it turns south onto Cahuenga Boulevard, before wrapping up back at Sunset. You'll be able to watch from the sidewalk, and expect just about every restaurant and bar with a patio to host special seatings on the morning of the parade. Also, the parade route sits along two Metro stops, Hollywood/Highland and Hollywood/Vine. What's WeHo Pride? And when is it? Though Christopher Street West may have moved L.A. Pride east, West Hollywood still holds its own celebration on the former site of the event. WeHo Pride will technically take place from late May and throughout June, but the main event, an all-weekend music fest dubbed OUTLOUD, takes place May 30 to June 1 (the date of the WeHo Pride Parade). You can find out more in our full guide to WeHo Pride. Between L.A. Pride and WeHo Pride, if you're wondering which is the Pride event for L.A.: Since they're held on separate weekends, there's no reason for to pit one against the other—so why not attend both?
National Geographic
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- National Geographic
7 of the best new museums to visit this year
This article was produced by National Geographic Traveller (UK). Whether it's getting in touch with different cultures, finding creative inspiration or even sinking your teeth into the history of a specific subject, museums can be intimate and interactive spaces that conjure new trains of thought while transporting visitors into other worlds — even if just for a brief moment. And 2025 is a great year to wander collection-filled halls, get lost in exhibitions and stimulate the senses with new interactive experiences — here's where to do it. 1. Grand Egyptian Museum, Egypt A massive 11-metre, 3,200-year-old statue of Ramses II greets visitors at the long-awaited Grand Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the largest archaeological museum in the world. This highly anticipated space dedicated to Ancient Egyptian civilisation has been in the works for over a decade, with multiple pushbacks due to rising costs and the pandemic, but the first galleries finally opened in late 2024. The grand staircase that leads to the main galleries is a statue-stacked celebration of Egypt's gods and kings, holding over 60 significant pieces from the museum's collection. Once upstairs, visitors can peer through the floor-to-ceiling windows that face the Pyramids of Giza before admiring the museum's 100,000-strong collection. Tours are offered every hour in Arabic and English and last 90 minutes, but that's not nearly enough to cover the entire museum. This July will finally see the museum's official grand opening, when the King Tutankhamun collection will be unveiled. An old-school jukebox, curated by DJ and activist Honey Dijon, plays inspirational hits that capture the Stonewall community's rebellious spirit and joy. Photograph by Stephen Kent Johnson 2. Stonewall National Monument Visitor Centre, US Last June — on the anniversary of the Stonewall Rebellion on the 28th of the month — marked the opening of New York City's Stonewall National Monument Visitor Centre, a cultural hub dedicated to all things LGBTQ+. It's set in what was one half of the original Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in Greenwich Village, which was raided by police in 1969, sparking a series of protests. The visitor centre plays host to a variety of talks, live performances, on-site tours and exhibitions highlighting LGBTQ+ history while a modern revival of the original bar occupies the other half of the building next door. A rainbow-coloured Wall of Solidarity greets guests and unveils Stonewall's global legacy while highlighting the voices of revolutionary hope while an old-school jukebox, curated by DJ and activist Honey Dijon, plays inspirational hits that capture the Stonewall community's rebellious spirit and joy. Entry to the visitor centre is free of charge. 3. Nintendo Museum, Japan Giant brick blocks and green pipes decorate the courtyard of the Nintendo Museum, which opened last October in Kyoto, Japan, conjuring up the imaginary world of the global entertainment brand. The museum, spread across three buildings, is dedicated to the history of Nintendo, from its humble roots — founded in 1889 as a maker of hanafuda ('flower cards', traditional Japanese playing cards) — to the company's latest games and consoles, including special editions and concepts that were never publicly released. The main attraction, as expected, is the collection of interactive games, featuring Nintendo's famous characters, from Kirby to Super Mario. End the nostalgia with a visit to the museum gift shop for Nintendo memorabilia, followed by the Hatena Burger restaurant, where visitors can choose from over 270,000 possible ways to build a burger. Tickets are made available by lottery and must be bought at least three months in advance through the museum's website. The striking brutalist building in Kristiansand in southern Norway houses the largest collection of Nordic modern art. Photograph by Alan Williams 4. Kunstsilo, Norway The sleek, white brutalist building that houses Kunstsilo, Norway's latest museum of contemporary Nordic art, might seem like a recent construction, but it's actually a repurposed flour mill built in 1935. Recognised for its modern, functionalist architecture, the silo is now home to prestigious collections that showcase 8,000 pieces of Nordic art. The Tangen Collection, the largest collection of Nordic modern art, gathers work from Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark and Iceland from the late 1890s to present-day. Kunstsilo also offers digital contemporary art and temporary exhibitions, along with lectures, concerts and workshops. There's also a brasserie on the ground floor and the Panorama bar on the ninth, for views of the fjord and archipelago outside the southern port city of Kristiansand. 5. Women Artists of the Mougins Museum, France British collector Christian Levett closed his museum of antiquity in Mougins on the French Riviera and reopened it as a dedicated space to art created entirely by women of the 19th to 21st centuries. Femmes Artistes du Musée de Mougins, or Women Artists of the Mougins Museum, holds Levett's personal collection of over 100 paintings and sculptures created by more than 80 artists such as Frida Kahlo, Blanche Hoschedé-Monet (stepdaughter of Claude Monet), Joan Mitchell, Jenna Gribbon, Leonora Carrington and dozens more. The ground floor is dedicated to painters of the impressionist and surrealist movements, while the first floor showcases abstract work from the 20th century. The second floor embodies figurative art and various depictions and expressions of the human body while the basement level is dedicated to 21st-century women artists and their legacies in the art world. The museum is open daily and tickets can be purchased in advance online. Visitors to the Museum of BBQ can dive into a ball pit resembling a can of BBQ beans at the end of their visit. 6. Museum of BBQ, US A museum dedicated entirely to flavour, the Museum of BBQ allows guests to get lost in the sauces of America's four main barbecue regions: Kansas City, Memphis, Texas and the Carolinas. Opened by food writer and BBQ judge Jonathan Bender, this Kansas City-based museum dives deep into every step of the sizzling practice, from meat cuts and dry rubs to how smoke, wood and fire affect the final result. Visitors can also soak up the history of the craft while enjoying some 'rib ticklers' (BBQ-themed dad jokes) and photos with the championship mustard belt — an ode to South Carolina's famous mustard-based sauce. After the culinary history, it's time to dive into a can of beans — or at least into the giant ball pit that resembles one. 7. Saka Museum, Indonesia Shining a light on often-overlooked Balinese culture and history, the Saka Museum in Bali weaves the island's intimate connection to nature into its state-of-the-art architecture and design. Opened in 2024 by Ayana Bali, a destination resort with four award-winning hotels, the Saka Museum is free for hotel guests and open to others for a small fee. Named after the Hindu solar calendar, the museum showcases preserved ancient texts, gamelan instrument ensembles, stone statues and ogoh-ogoh sculptures from local Balinese communities as well as offers a deep dive behind Nyepi, Bali's annual, island-wide Day of Silence. Saka offers tours, seminars and exhibitions, along with vast indoor and outdoor spaces for weddings and special events. To subscribe to National Geographic Traveller (UK) magazine click here. (Available in select countries only).
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion - What it's like to be a US historian right now
I am an early American historian. I have spent decades studying and writing about the history of our country and its remarkable people. The current cultural climate is filled with historical consciousness, but also with widespread misunderstandings and misrepresentations of history. One of the most striking aspects of this moment is the pervasive sense of instability. Many Americans feel an anxiety that is difficult to describe, a visceral apprehension about what comes next. As historians, we are often distanced from this sensation because we know how past events turned out. But living through history in real-time makes that sense of unpredictability palpable in a way that is rarely captured in historical narratives. Adding to this uncertainty is the intense battle over our national narratives and historical identity. I have witnessed, with growing concern, the dismissal of the national archivist and key leadership at the National Archives — an institution responsible for safeguarding our historical records and playing a crucial role in presidential elections. I have also seen the troubling erasure of history from public spaces, particularly online. Websites containing information about the Tuskegee Airmen, Black American heroes, women's history and transgender figures in the Stonewall Rebellion have been quietly removed. Even references to the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945, were scrubbed from government web pages due to politically motivated keyword searches that apparently disregarded content. More personally, I recently discovered that my own writings had been removed from National Park Service websites. Over the years, I was invited by the service to educate staff nationwide on how to present complex and difficult histories in ways that engage the public. My contributions included essays and presentations on LGBTQ life in early America and gender-based violence, offering historical context to help park staff address these topics with nuance. That work has now apparently been erased. My professional organizations, including the Organization of American Historians and the American Historical Association, have spoken out against these developments. Their statements highlight the historical significance of these changes and the urgent need for vigilance in protecting the integrity of historical scholarship. I am deeply worried about the future of history as a profession. Graduate programs are rescinding acceptances, funding is disappearing and the next generation of historians is being undermined. A government that funds historical research serves all of us; without it, we are left at the mercy of political operatives, pundits and fiction writers who reshape history to fit their own agendas. Last week, the administration declared through an executive order, 'Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,' that the vice president would be overseeing a comprehensive sweep of the content at the Smithsonian museums, one of the world's premier academic museum institutions. The purpose of the initiative is to ensure that the content is acceptable to the government. The order made specific mention of unacceptable content on display at the Museum of African American History and Culture and included a prohibition for the Women's History Museum against the inclusion of transgender women. As a historian of America's founding, I am acutely aware of what lies ahead as the country approaches the 250th anniversary of its independence. This anniversary will likely be politicized to an extent unseen since the post-Civil War period, when revisionist narratives about enslavement gained traction in a nationwide propaganda campaign. I recall when Trump's 1776 Commission and the proposed 'Garden of Heroes' were announced, and I expect these ideas to resurface in an attempt to frame history in ways dictated by politicians rather than scholars. We should not turn away from our own histories or overlay a sanitized, artificial version of the past that aligns with present-day political agendas. History is meant to be debated and revised. Professional historians engage in rigorous discussions within scholarly frameworks that rely on evidence and interpretation. Censoring content for political reasons, confusing monuments with actual history and treating opinions as facts will only lead us further into misinformation and mythmaking. History also offers perspective. 'This too shall pass' is a lesson many of us have heard since childhood. This does not mean we should sit idly by and wait for this period to pass. Rather, understanding that we are part of an ongoing historical narrative should both humble and empower us. We are all agents of historical change, and the future is unwritten. History helps us imagine new possibilities — alternative ways of structuring society, radically different ways that previous generations lived and inspiring moments of resilience and transformation. It can be a source of motivation and vision. However, we cannot change the past, nor should we try to erase or distort it. A nation that denies its rich and diverse histories makes itself weaker, not stronger. The work of historians is essential, not only for understanding where we have been but also for charting a path forward that is informed, inclusive and true. Thomas A. Foster is a professor of history at Howard University. His most recent book is 'Rethinking Rufus: Sexual Violations of Enslaved Men.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Hill
02-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
What it's like to be a US historian right now
I am an early American historian. I have spent decades studying and writing about the history of our country and its remarkable people. The current cultural climate is filled with historical consciousness, but also with widespread misunderstandings and misrepresentations of history. One of the most striking aspects of this moment is the pervasive sense of instability. Many Americans feel an anxiety that is difficult to describe, a visceral apprehension about what comes next. As historians, we are often distanced from this sensation because we know how past events turned out. But living through history in real-time makes that sense of unpredictability palpable in a way that is rarely captured in historical narratives. Adding to this uncertainty is the intense battle over our national narratives and historical identity. I have witnessed, with growing concern, the dismissal of the national archivist and key leadership at the National Archives — an institution responsible for safeguarding our historical records and playing a crucial role in presidential elections. I have also seen the troubling erasure of history from public spaces, particularly online. Websites containing information about the Tuskegee Airmen, Black American heroes, women's history and transgender figures in the Stonewall Rebellion have been quietly removed. Even references to the Enola Gay, the plane that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, in 1945, were scrubbed from government web pages due to politically motivated keyword searches that apparently disregarded content. More personally, I recently discovered that my own writings had been removed from National Park Service websites. Over the years, I was invited by the service to educate staff nationwide on how to present complex and difficult histories in ways that engage the public. My contributions included essays and presentations on LGBTQ life in early America and gender-based violence, offering historical context to help park staff address these topics with nuance. That work has now apparently been erased. My professional organizations, including the Organization of American Historians and the American Historical Association, have spoken out against these developments. Their statements highlight the historical significance of these changes and the urgent need for vigilance in protecting the integrity of historical scholarship. I am deeply worried about the future of history as a profession. Graduate programs are rescinding acceptances, funding is disappearing and the next generation of historians is being undermined. A government that funds historical research serves all of us; without it, we are left at the mercy of political operatives, pundits and fiction writers who reshape history to fit their own agendas. Last week, the administration declared through an executive order, ' Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,' that the vice president would be overseeing a comprehensive sweep of the content at the Smithsonian museums, one of the world's premier academic museum institutions. The purpose of the initiative is to ensure that the content is acceptable to the government. The order made specific mention of unacceptable content on display at the Museum of African American History and Culture and included a prohibition for the Women's History Museum against the inclusion of transgender women. As a historian of America's founding, I am acutely aware of what lies ahead as the country approaches the 250th anniversary of its independence. This anniversary will likely be politicized to an extent unseen since the post-Civil War period, when revisionist narratives about enslavement gained traction in a nationwide propaganda campaign. I recall when Trump's 1776 Commission and the proposed ' Garden of Heroes ' were announced, and I expect these ideas to resurface in an attempt to frame history in ways dictated by politicians rather than scholars. We should not turn away from our own histories or overlay a sanitized, artificial version of the past that aligns with present-day political agendas. History is meant to be debated and revised. Professional historians engage in rigorous discussions within scholarly frameworks that rely on evidence and interpretation. Censoring content for political reasons, confusing monuments with actual history and treating opinions as facts will only lead us further into misinformation and mythmaking. History also offers perspective. 'This too shall pass' is a lesson many of us have heard since childhood. This does not mean we should sit idly by and wait for this period to pass. Rather, understanding that we are part of an ongoing historical narrative should both humble and empower us. We are all agents of historical change, and the future is unwritten. History helps us imagine new possibilities — alternative ways of structuring society, radically different ways that previous generations lived and inspiring moments of resilience and transformation. It can be a source of motivation and vision. However, we cannot change the past, nor should we try to erase or distort it. A nation that denies its rich and diverse histories makes itself weaker, not stronger. The work of historians is essential, not only for understanding where we have been but also for charting a path forward that is informed, inclusive and true. Thomas A. Foster is a professor of history at Howard University. His most recent book is 'Rethinking Rufus: Sexual Violations of Enslaved Men.'
