The Smithsonian Institution, the largest museum complex in the world, will be awash with what he describes as “corrosive” anti-American ideology, according to Donald Trump, the president of the United States.
In one of his most recent executive orders, which read “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” Trump appointed Vice President JD Vance to lead the changes and “restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness.”
According to Trump’s executive order, “The Smithsonian Institution has recently come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.”
The Smithsonian institutions included those that Trump’s order listed as supporting “narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive” as well as exhibits at the American Art Museum and the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
According to the executive order, “Museums in our Nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn,” rather than “to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history.”
The National Zoo and 21 individual museums are housed at the Washington, DC, institution. The National Museum of American History and the National Museum of Natural History are two of the most well-known. The Board of Regents of the Smithsonian Institution includes Vice.
According to the order, “It is the policy of my administration to restore Federal sites dedicated to history, including parks and museums, to solemn and uplifting public monuments that remind Americans of our extraordinary heritage, consistent progress toward becoming a more perfect Union, and unmatched record of advancing liberty, prosperity, and human flourishing,” the order states.
Trump’s decision to change programming at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, comes after a similar one in February. In a similar way, the president appointed himself as chairman to oversee the changes.
Trump has taken steps to reverse policies that were widely used under President Joe Biden’s administration and support “diversity, equity, and inclusion” since his inauguration in January.
Additionally, Trump and other Republicans want to stop “critical race theory,” which examines how racism is ingrained in American institutions. Following the significant racial reckoning that was started by the police killing of Black American man George Floyd in 2020, the theory has gained widespread support, particularly on museum and university campuses.
The Smithsonian will be prohibited from hosting or funding exhibits that “degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies that are incompatible with Federal law and policy” under Trump’s executive order.
Additionally, it was forbidden to house exhibits that celebrate trans women at the Women’s History Museum, which is still being developed.
Source: Aljazeera
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