Although the Smithsonian is a separately chartered agency that is not accountable to the presidency, the White House has set next week as the deadline for a comprehensive review of all exhibits at eight museums that might violate the president’s Executive Order Number 14253. That order said that:
“Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth. This revisionist movement seeks to undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light. Under this historical revision, our Nation’s unparalleled legacy of advancing liberty, individual rights, and human happiness is reconstructed as inherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed.”
The Order particularly criticized the Smithsonian for not recognizing that race is a question of biology:
“Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology. This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive. For example, the Smithsonian American Art Museum today features “The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture,” an exhibit representing that “[s]ocieties including the United States have used race to establish and maintain systems of power, privilege, and disenfranchisement.” The exhibit further claims that “sculpture has been a powerful tool in promoting scientific racism” and promotes the view that race is not a biological reality but a social construct, stating “Race is a human invention.””
The investigation into the Smithsonian was begun soon after the Order was issued, but then it slowed. According to the New York Times:
“The urgency of the effort seemed to flag last fall, in part perhaps because Lindsey Halligan, the White House aide tasked with scrutinizing the Smithsonian for “improper ideology,” was rerouted by Mr. Trump to serve as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. In addition, the Smithsonian acceded to the White House’s demand last summer to begin turning over records about operations at eight of its 21 museums.
But the institution, which has long been regarded as independent from the executive branch, has produced only part of the lengthy list of requested documents. Now the administration is demanding all of the outstanding materials by Tuesday.
In a strongly worded Dec. 18 letter to the Smithsonian’s secretary, Lonnie G. Bunch III, White House officials said the Smithsonian had fallen far short of meeting their deadlines or fulfilling their requests. The letter made a pointed reference to the fact that the Smithsonian’s $1 billion budget is largely dependent on federal funds.
“As you may know,” the letter said, “funds apportioned for the Smithsonian Institution are only available for use in a manner consistent with” the executive order and the fulfillment of the document request.“
As information becomes available after the deadline, I will post updates.
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