(Washington) The White House orders an in-depth examination of the museums and exhibitions of the Smithsonian as the 250 approaches 250e Anniversary of the country, in order to align the content of the institution with the interpretation that President Donald Trump has of American history.
In a letter addressed Tuesday to the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Lonnie Bunch III, the White House detailed the measures it expects from the organization as part of this exam.
The exam will relate to all content accessible to the public, such as social media, exhibition texts and educational media, in order to “assess the tone, historical framing and adequacy to American ideals”, according to the letter.
This initiative aims to guarantee compliance with the directive of the president aimed at celebrating American exceptionalism, eliminating divisive or partisan speeches and restoring confidence in our common cultural institutions.
Extract from the letter
The Smithsonian has reaffirmed its commitment to “scientific excellence, the rigor of research and the exact and factual presentation of history”.
“We examine the letter by keeping this commitment to the mind and will continue to collaborate constructively with the White House, the Congress and our Board of Directors,” argued the institution in a declaration.
This revision, initially reported by the Wall Street Journalconstitutes the president’s last attempt to align the country’s cultural institutions on his vision.
In March, Donald Trump signed a decree entitled “restoring truth and reason in American history”, which accused the Smithsonian of being influenced by a “cliting and racial ideology” and called him to “eliminate any inappropriate ideology” of the museums of the institution.
In February, President Trump dismissed the board of directors of Kennedy Center, replaced him with his supporters and self -proclaimed president. He undertook to put an end to the Drag events, indicating that he would be important in an important way in the choice of the programming of the institution.
The examination of the Smithsonian will initially focus on eight museums: the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African-American History and Culture, the National Museum of American Indians, the National Museum of Air and Space, the Smithsonian American Museum of American Art, the National Portrait Gallery and the Hirshhorn Museum and Garden.
The letter specified that other museums would be examined during the subsequent phases.
The defenders of civil rights criticized the particular attention paid by the administration to the National Museum of African-American History and Culture. The latter fear that it is an attempt to minimize the contribution of African-Americans to the country and rethink the obstacles to which they have been confronted throughout history.
The Smithsonian has repeatedly denied the allegations according to which it would have changed or deleted details of exhibitions under pressure from the administration. Recently, the institution deleted the references to the two Donald Trump denies from an exhibition on the American presidency.
A museum spokesperson said that these references, added in 2021, were intended to be a temporary measure and said that a future exhibition would include details on all presidential denies.
The examination ordered by the White House requires museums to submit exposure documents and sketches for future events within 30 days. Within 120 days specifies the letter, museums will have to take corrective measures, “replace conflict or ideological language with unifying, historically exact and constructive descriptions”.
