The White House released a list of Smithsonian exhibits and items it objects to due to what it says is “woke ideology.”
This comes on the heels of a letter the white house sent to the Smithsonian announcing an internal review of several museums.
Those News4 spoke with said the exhibits inside of the Smithsonian Institutions do not distort history. Following what the Trump Administration has said, they say they wanted to show up to understand the complete history of the country.
“We wanted to keep the elements of truth in our history intact,” said Lexus Carter of First Baptist Church of Glenarden.
Carter and other church members from Glenarden’s first baptist church are back at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Carter said the return is deliberate.
“With the current state of our country we don’t know how long certain elements, I guess, of the museums will stay the same,” she said.
Those thoughts come after President Donald Trump and the white house directed sharp criticism at the Smithsonian and its museums.
Trump took to social media writing, in part, “The Smithsonian is out of control – where everything discussed is how horrible our country is, how bad slavery was.”
He went on to say that he has instructed his attorneys to go through the museums.
Those comments are a far cry from the president’s remarks during his first administration. In 2017, he toured the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
“Always looked to the United States as the promise land of universal freedom. Today and every day of my presidency, I pledge to do everything that I can to continue that promise of freedom for African Americans and for every American, so important,” he had said.
Last week, the White House stated that president trump is right — the Smithsonian Institution is out of control and released a list of Smithsonian exhibits that it deemed distorted history.
Some of those examples included:
- A picture of a pride flag outside a museum
- Featured programs at the National Museum of the American Latino
- Portraits of Dr. Anthony Fauci and a transgender Statue of Liberty
- An exhibit inside the National Museum of African American History and Culture
“If you can remove history and you can rewrite history and you can dictate history, then what you are essentially doing is you are putting yourself in the center of historical narrative, and that’s not a good place to be because America is inclusive of all of our stories,” said Dr. Kaye Wise Whitehead, executive director for the Karson Institute for Race, Peace and Social Justice and a Loyola University of Maryland professor.
She said all pieces — and perspectives — are critical.
“This is the American narrative,” she said. “It is bloodied, it is brutal but it’s also beautiful and poignant. It is our story, and our stories matter.”
Earlier this month, the Trump administration sent a letter to the Smithsonian informing the institution of an internal review of materials at eight museums.
The White House said if all benchmarks are met on schedule, it would complete its review by early 2026.
For museum visitors, they say they’re hoping the review doesn’t lead to less inclusivity and an incomplete picture.
“We want to keep the elements of truth of our history intact,” Carter said. “Because they matter.”
from Local – NBC4 Washington https://ift.tt/JHLumlk
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