President Trump made a Truth Social post on Aug. 19 regarding the contents of various Smithsonian Museums. Following this administration’s claims of them “replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology”, the institution braces for federally sanctioned “reviews” of eight of their museums in the coming months.
The president says he’s pushing for a focus on “Americanism”, citing claims that the Smithsonian focuses too much on “uncomfortable” aspects of US history, such as slavery, rather than the country’s accomplishments.
Advanced Placement African American studies teacher Noel Erskine said Trump’s comments reflect a growing trend of ignorance among the American public, citing the Holocaust and the transatlantic slave trade as results of these ideas being pushed to the extreme.
“Unfortunately, I think most people don’t read. If more people did read, we wouldn’t have the ridiculousness that Trump is talking about with the Smithsonian,” Erskine said, “I’ve never heard anybody question the facts of the Smithsonian Institute, liberal, conservative, republican, democrat, not wholesale. When ignorance prevails, we see what happened with the Holocaust, we see what happened with slavery, and then that bleeds over into other areas.”
While the Smithsonian is a federal institution, the impact of this administration’s actions has museums all across the country concerned that they could become subject to the same scrutiny. The American Alliance of Museums released a statement warning of the “chilling effect” this could have across the nation’s museums.
Tenisha Griggs is the Senior Director of Marketing and Communications for the National Center for Civil and Human Rights. She believes that critical parts of history are being withheld, resulting in an incomplete understanding of facts.
“Right now, there is for sure an attack on history and telling the complete and accurate depiction of historical events, and you can see this evidence from the recent administration’s focus on making changes to well-known museums and removing critical parts of history from them,” Griggs said. “If you’re removing the critical parts of history, then you’re not telling a complete story.”
Additionally, President Trump threatened to pull funding from the Smithsonian Institution. In the same letter to the Smithsonian, he ordered them to implement “content corrections” and replace what the administration deems as “divisive or ideologically driven language” within 120 days. Griggs thinks these orders are unjustified.
“These are politically driven initiatives, and I have yet to see any information that really gives a proper justification of why,” Griggs said. “All prior administrations have been really keen on investing in history, and this administration is not. I personally just think it’s disappointing.”
The King Center for Nonviolent and Social Change is a non-profit organization and museum in Atlanta founded to keep Martin Luther King’s legacy of nonviolent action alive. Baltimore residents Onya Witner and Renica Masscy visited the center, believing institutions and museums like it are critical for preserving history.
“The youth, the future, they need to know exactly what’s happened and what is happening in history,” Witner said. “I have children who are 19 and 21, and for them not to have the experience or get to go and visit these places and not have that history available to their children is heartbreaking.”
Massey is also concerned for the future generation’s education.
“[The King Center] is needed so we can see where we have come from and where we have to go for the past, future, and kids growing up in this world,” Massey said.
Griggs recognizes the importance as well, stating museums provide accurate sources of information amidst a rise in digital misinformation.
“You have generations who have grown up with phones their entire lives, and information is right at people’s fingertips,” Griggs said. “It’s a good thing because now it makes it so much more accessible, but it can be a bad thing because it’s so easy for anyone and everyone to post a story or an article with no factual evidence. Museums are so critical because they’re a living space that remains the same in terms of the historical events and how they’ve happened. They have been vetted and fact checked, and they are an incredible source of history that people can refer to.”
Yet amidst Trump’s recent actions, Griggs is disheartened. She feels that in the future there may be roadblocks to educating her children about the history she holds close.
“As an African-American woman, this is something that is near and dear to my heart,” Griggs said. “I would be incredibly disappointed to not be able to take my son there or my kids there in the future to experience that [Smithsonian] museum because of politically driven motivations.”
