The memo from Lonnie G. Bunch III, the first African American to lead the Smithsonian Institution, was as much a message of reassurance as a call to vigilance.
Following President Donald Trump’s sweeping executive order targeting what he labeled “anti-American ideology” in cultural institutions, Bunch acknowledged the growing uncertainty and laid out a path forward. “We remain steadfast in our mission to bring history, science, education, research, and the arts to all Americans,” he wrote to staff. “We will continue to showcase world-class exhibits, collections, and objects, rooted in expertise and accuracy.”
Trump’s order casts a long shadow over the Smithsonian, which, while not a federal agency, is a trust instrumentality of the U.S. government and operates under the guidance of a Board of Regents, including the Chief Justice, Vice President, and members of Congress. The order directs Vice President J.D. Vance, an ex-officio regent, to work with the board on content oversight—an unprecedented move that has left many within the institution and across the Black community alarmed. The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), opened in 2016 under Bunch’s leadership, was directly criticized in the executive order. Its mission to unearth and share America’s untold Black history once praised as groundbreaking, is now being reframed by Trump as an example of what he sees as divisive, anti-patriotic content.
Bunch’s memo doubled down on the Smithsonian’s long-standing commitment to truth, transparency, and historical scholarship. “As an Institution, our commitment to scholarship and research is unwavering and will always serve as the guiding light for our content,” he stated. “For more than 175 years, the Smithsonian has been an educational institution devoted to continuous learning with the public in mind and driven by our most important mission – the increase and diffusion of knowledge,” Bunch added. “We remain committed to telling the multi-faceted stories of this country’s extraordinary heritage.” That commitment is under direct threat, Black scholars argue.
Writing for The Medium, education expert Dr. Jerry W. Washington called the order part of “the fight over American memory,” a political war that has increasingly targeted race-based historical narratives. “Over months of discussing cultural memory wars, the removal of DEI content, and the nuances of racial dialogue, I’ve seen this gap widen,” Washington wrote. “It highlights a fundamental divergence not just in policy preference, but in how we interpret history, power, and truth itself.” Washington and others see the executive order as an extension of Trump’s 2020 directive banning diversity training in federal agencies—an action that set the stage for a conservative backlash against critical race theory (CRT) and racial equity initiatives. “CRT became a catch-all term—a manufactured villain used to silence any acknowledgment of systemic racism, white privilege, or the real struggles of marginalized communities,” Washington noted. “It was never about theory. It was about control.”
That control has since expanded. Dozens of states have enacted vague educational gag orders aimed at stifling classroom conversations about race and history. DEI programs have been dismantled across colleges and public institutions. Now, with the Smithsonian—the keeper of the nation’s collective memory—under the microscope, Black historians and curators fear a broader erasure. “The campaign effectively poisoned the well,” Washington wrote. “Making any substantive discussion of systemic racism politically toxic.” For many Black Americans, the concern is deeper than academics. It’s personal. The Smithsonian’s inclusive storytelling—exemplified by the NMAAHC—has provided generations with a long-denied mirror to see themselves in the American narrative. To have that narrative constrained or rewritten at the behest of political power is to have identity and truth under siege.
“As we have done throughout our history,” Bunch wrote, “the Smithsonian will work with the Board of Regents, including the Chief Justice, Vice President, and our congressional and citizen Regents.” But he made clear that the Institution’s compass remains unchanged: “The board understands and appreciates the Institution’s mission, as well as the importance of scholarship, expertise, and service to the American public.” Still, the fight over who gets to define America’s story is far from over. “The consequences are real,” Washington warned. “This is about more than exhibits. It’s about erasing the truths that make America whole.”
Kevin Young, the director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), is currently on personal leave and not leading the museum, according to Smithsonian officials. The leave began on March 14 and will continue for an “undetermined period,” according to Kevin Gover, the Smithsonian’s under-secretary for museums and culture. Shanita Brackett, the museum’s associate director of operations, has stepped in as acting director. Young has served as director since January 2021, succeeding Lonnie G. Bunch III after Bunch became Secretary of the Smithsonian. Under Young’s leadership, the museum launched a digital “Searchable Museum” in the fall of 2021 and kicked off its $350 million “Living History” campaign the following year.
His unexpected leave comes as former President Donald Trump escalates efforts to reshape national cultural narratives. A recent executive order issued by Trump directs Vice President J.D. Vance to work with the Smithsonian Board of Regents on content oversight. That directive has alarmed museum officials, historians, and members of the Black community, who see it as a direct attempt to influence how history is presented, particularly Black history. The order has cast a spotlight on the NMAAHC, which opened in 2016 under Bunch’s leadership. Once praised for unearthing America’s untold Black stories, the museum is now facing political scrutiny for content Trump labeled as divisive and anti-patriotic. Bunch addressed the situation in a memo to Smithsonian staff, writing that the institution “will continue to showcase world-class exhibits, collections, and objects, rooted in expertise and accuracy.” He wrote that the Smithsonian “remains steadfast in our mission to bring history, science, education, research, and the arts to all Americans.”
Young’s museum career began in 2005 at Emory University, where he taught English and creative writing and served as a curator at the university’s rare books library. In 2016, he became director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library, one of the oldest Black cultural institutions in the United States. During his five-year tenure, he raised $10 million in funding, launched a literary festival, boosted attendance by 40 percent, and acquired archives from cultural icons, including Harry Belafonte, Sonny Rollins, and James Baldwin. An author of 16 books of poetry and nonfiction, Young also serves as poetry editor for The New Yorker. The executive order follows Trump’s earlier efforts to dismantle racial equity initiatives, including his 2020 directive banning diversity training in federal agencies. Historians say those efforts have evolved into a larger campaign targeting how race, power, and history are discussed nationwide. Dr. Jerry W. Washington, an education expert who has written extensively about the cultural and political battles over historical memory, described the Trump-led effort as part of “the fight over American memory.” In an article for The Medium, Washington wrote, “It highlights a fundamental divergence not just in policy preference, but in how we interpret history, power, and truth itself.”
He pointed to the national backlash against critical race theory as evidence of a strategy designed to eliminate discussion of systemic racism and white privilege. “CRT became a catch-all term—a manufactured villain used to silence any acknowledgment of systemic racism, white privilege, or the real struggles of marginalized communities,” Washington wrote. “It was never about theory. It was about control.” Since Trump’s 2020 directive, more than 30 states have introduced or passed laws banning certain classroom discussions of race and history. Diversity, equity, and inclusion programs have been dismantled across school districts, colleges, and public agencies. The Smithsonian, which is considered the nation’s most visible repository of historical scholarship, is now being pulled into that campaign. Bunch told staff that the Smithsonian would continue to work with its Board of Regents, which includes the Chief Justice, the Vice President, and members of Congress. He noted the board’s role in guiding the institution and its understanding of “the importance of scholarship, expertise, and service to the American public.” Washington warned that what’s at stake is much deeper than a shift in policy. “This is about more than exhibits,” he wrote. “It’s about erasing the truths that make America whole.”
