President Trump has launched an attack on what he calls “divisive, race-centred ideology” within American cultural institutions, starting with the Smithsonian.
His executive order, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” aims to redirect funding away from exhibits and programs deemed to contradict “shared American values.” Critics argue this is a thinly veiled attempt to whitewash history.
The Smithsonian is just the first target in a broader campaign encompassing organizations like the Kennedy Center, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the Voice of America, and PBS. Trump believes these institutions have fallen prey to “woke” ideology and has charged Vice President JD Vance with implementing the executive order’s policies.
The order specifically directs Vance to ensure federal funds are withheld from any exhibits or programs that “degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy.”
This broad mandate gives the administration considerable leeway in determining which programs are deemed acceptable, raising concerns about censorship and historical revisionism. The clash between the administration’s vision of American history and the perspectives presented by these cultural institutions sets the stage for a potentially protracted conflict.
Here’s a look at the Smithsonian Institution and what’s going on with it.
What is the Smithsonian?
With an annual budget exceeding $1 billion, the Smithsonian is the “world’s largest museum, education, and research complex,” according to its website.
It was conceived in the 19th century by the British scientist, James Smithson, who bequeathed his estate for the purpose of a Washington-based establishment that helps with “the increase and diffusion of knowledge.” In 1846, 17 years after Smithson’s death, President James K. Polk signed legislation calling for the Institution’s formation.
The Smithsonian now operates a broad range of cultural centers in Washington and beyond, including the Air and Space Museum, the Portrait Gallery, the National Zoo and the Smithsonian Gardens. Around 60% of its funding is from the federal government, but the Institution also receives money from “trust funds or non-federal funds, which include contributions from private sources,” according to its website.
What are Trump’s specific objections?
In his executive order, he made the claim that “the National Museum of African American History and Culture has proclaimed that ‘hard work,’ ‘individualism,’ and ‘the nuclear family’ are aspects of ‘White culture'” and criticized an upcoming exhibit at the American Women’s History Museum that highlights the achievements of trans athletes. He also singled out an exhibit at the American Art Museum that “promotes the view that race is not a biological reality but a social construct.”
What has Trump said before about the African American museum?
In 2017, Trump visited the National Museum of African American History and Culture with then-Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson, Republican Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Alveda King, a niece of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The president’s tour was guided by Lonnie Bunch, the Smithsonian Institution’s current secretary and founding director of NMAAHC.
The museum includes an exhibit highlighting the career achievements of Carson, a successful pediatric neurosurgeon who has long been celebrated as a role model to Black aspiring medical doctors.
“I’m deeply proud that we now have a museum that honors the millions of African American men and women who built our national heritage, especially when it comes to faith, culture and the unbreakable American spirit,” Trump said following the 2017 tour. “I know President (Barack) Obama was here for the museum’s opening last fall. And I’m honored to be the second sitting president to visit this great museum.”
Outside the National Museum of African American History and Culture on Friday, Trump’s executive order and its potential impact were met with dismay.
Dorothy Wilson, visiting for the first time with her two grandchildren, said she was very concerned about what it would mean for them and others if they weren’t able to learn the truth about the past.
“It really hurts generations because your history is who you are,” she said.
Elizabeth Pagano, coming from New York state’s Hudson Valley, said: “The history of the United States, and the history of everybody that came through, is everybody’s history. You can’t pick and choose your history.”
In a statement, Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center, said, “Black history is U.S. history. Women’s history is U.S. history. This country’s history is ugly and beautiful. And each historic struggle for civil rights has advanced our movement toward a truly inclusive, multiracial democracy.”
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