As his administration examines the institution’s exhibits for their “Americanism,” President Donald Trump has claimed that only “horrible” topics, including “how bad Slavery was,” are discussed in the country’s Smithsonian museums.
Trump stated in a statement on his Truth Social platform on Tuesday that the Smithsonian is “OUT OF CONTROL” and that “everything that is said is how horrible our country is” and that “the downtrodden have been” were unaccomplished.
Trump went further in a review of a number of the Smithsonian’s 21 museums and galleries, saying he had instructed his attorneys to “go through the museums” and “to begin the same procedure that has been done with colleges and universities where tremendous progress has been made” after going over several of them last week.
Trump continued, “This Country cannot be WOKE, because WOKE IS BROKE.”
The White House’s “unprecedented” request to review the Smithsonian’s exhibits was “deep concern and dismay,” according to the Organization of American Historians (OAH). “No president has the legitimate authority to impose such a review,” the organization said.
The Smithsonian is self-governing its decisions independently from the government, but it receives the majority of its funding from Congress.
The OAH added that the 250th anniversary of the nation’s founding is “particularly depressing to see this effort of historical censorship and sanitizing.”
The Trump administration announced that it had ordered museums to be reviewed in advance of the milestone anniversary that will be observed in 2025.
Although exceptions continued, it wasn’t until decades later, on December 18, 1865, that the 13th Amendment to the US Constitution officially ended chattel slavery.
One of the museums that the White House reviewed is the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016 under the direction of then-President Barack Obama.
Visitors can find exhibits ranging from a South Carolina plantation cabin to Chuck Berry’s red Cadillac convertible, according to the museum’s website, which include information about the “richness and diversity of the African American experience.”
The Trump administration’s “sweeping review” of Smithsonian exhibits has also piqued the organization’s concern.
The administration’s efforts to rewrite history are “a betrayal of our democratic traditions and a deeply concerning attempt to strip truth from the institutions that tell our national story,” according to Hadar Harris, the managing director of PEN America’s Washington, DC office.
Trump has threatened to cut funding for top US educational institutions, citing pro-Palestinian protests against transgender policies, climate initiatives, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
The government resolved allegations against Brown University and Columbia University last month, which both agreed to pay $ 221 million. Additionally, both institutions accepted certain government requirements, including how to teach certain subjects.
Source: Aljazeera
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