Smithsonian head says White House report unfairly characterized US history museum
Bunch said the 162-page report misstates the museum’s work and defended its scholarship, accuracy and commitment to telling America’s full history.
- Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III sent staff a memo on Tuesday defending the National Museum of American History, calling a White House report alleging "extreme political activism" an unfair characterization of the institution's work.
- The White House released a 162-page document on Saturday criticizing the museum for alleged political activism, serving as the catalyst for Bunch III's internal defense and the broader institutional response.
- A Smithsonian spokesperson stated that "For more than 180 years, the Smithsonian has served the American public" with nonpartisan and independent scholarship, reaffirming the institution's core commitment to those principles.
- The Organization of American Historians condemned the White House report as "part of an ongoing and multi-pronged assault" by the Trump administration against accurate, evidence-based history in American public life.
- Bunch III wrote that the Smithsonian "continue to review the report and its findings carefully," acknowledging room for improvement while remaining committed to excellence, reflection, and institutional growth.
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81 Articles
White House Report Details the Wokeification of the Smithsonian American History Museum
"Not all Americans follow academic theories or curatorial fashions, but they do understand when a revered public institution has traded settled truths and basic history for political activism and division." The post White House Report Details the Wokeification of the Smithsonian American History Museum first appeared on Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion.
Magritte, Constable, Trump's Smithsonian Wrath
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Trump's Smithsonian Critique Is Pathetically Weak
On Wednesday, I discussed how the White House Domestic Policy Council's Saving America's Story report makes a number of false claims about what's missing from the National Museum of American History. Today, I want to discuss what the report finds objectionable that's actually there-starting with the person who oversees it all.
Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch Defends Institution Against White House Criticism
In an email to his staff, American educator, historian, and Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III pushed back against a recent White House Domestic Policy Council report which accused the Smithsonian National Museum of American History of veering towards a mission rooted in “extreme political activism.” Bunch’s email, which was published by the Washington Post […]
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