Surfing the Internet over the weekend, I was surprised to come across this headline: “President Trump is Right About the Smithsonian.”
That’s strange, I thought. I mean, really? Trump is right about interfering with the independence of one of America’s most respected institutions and giving leaders of the Smithsonian 120 days to eliminate any indication that slavery was all bad?
Investigating further, I discovered that headline actually came from the official White House website, “whitehouse.gov.” No surprise — of course, it came from Trump’s own propaganda outlet. Nobody else, maybe not even Fox News, would agree with it.
The attack on the Smithsonian is led by Trump himself, who accuses the world’s largest museum institution, with 17 free museums and a zoo, of being too “woke.”
“The Smithsonian is OUT OF CONTROL,” he ranted on Truth Social last week, “where everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been — Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future.” Which, to anybody but the most loyal MAGA supporter, immediately triggers two questions.
First question: What are the “good” parts about slavery the Smithsonian should celebrate? Is it the fact that men, women and children were sold like animals and forced to work long hours in horrible conditions for no salary, simply because they were Black? Is it that slave women were considered readily available sex targets for their white owners? Is it because slavery is the total contradiction of the promise of equality enshrined in the Constitution? If slavery was not “all bad,” Mr. President, what was “good” about it?
Second question: What changed since Donald Trump’s first visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2017? On that visit, he said: “I’m deeply proud that we now have a museum that honors the millions of African American men and women who built our national heritage, especially when it comes to faith, culture, and the unbreakable American spirit.” Now he claims it’s “horrible” and “out of control.”
What changed? The museum hasn’t changed. It’s Donald Trump who’s changed, from feeling he had to hide his inherent racism in his first term to openly embracing it in his second: Firing CQ Brown Jr., the Black chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; firing Carla Hayden, the first Black librarian of Congress; launching investigations of mortgage fraud (presidential level issue?) against the Black New York state attorney general and a Black Federal Reserve Governor; declaring war on diversity; bringing back statues of Confederate generals; appointing outspoken racists to important administration jobs — and now wanting to purge museums of anything that suggests white people might not be perfect.
Trump is dead wrong about the Smithsonian. True, a visit to the African American museum, popularly known as the “Blacksonian,” begins by descending to the basement, like descending into the hold of a slave ship, for a chilling depiction of slavery at its worst. That’s history. You have to start there to appreciate what’s next. Climbing up one floor, you visit what’s called “Defending Freedom:” powerful scenes from the great Civil Rights movement from 1876 to 1968: the lunch counter, the March on Washington, the signing of the Civil Rights Act.
And then, the higher you climb, the more positive the experience. Until you reach the top floors: a joyful celebration of the important contributions made to America by so many outstanding Black athletes, artists, entertainers, musicians, playwrights, authors and political leaders. From Jackie Robinson to Duke Ellington to James Baldwin to John Lewis, it’s a portrait of America at its best. And you realize how much poorer a nation we would be without them.
You can’t leave the African American museum without feeling good about America. Yes, you see how low we started, which we should all be ashamed of. But, while there’s still a long way to go, you also see all the progress we’ve made, which we can all be proud of.
What’s true of the African American Museum is true of all 17 Smithsonians. No wonder they are Washington’s most popular tourist attraction. All the museums are free. And together, from the American History Museum to the newly-expanded Air and Space Museum, from the Portrait Gallery to the American-Indian Museum, from the Natural History Museum to the zoo, they reflect what makes this such a great country, the envy of freedom-loving people everywhere.
Trump can redecorate the Oval Office as much as he wants. He should keep his hands off the Smithsonian.
Bill Press is host of “The Bill Press Pod.” He is the author of “From the Left: A Life in the Crossfire.”
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