President Trump said Tuesday the Smithsonian Institution was too narrowly focused on negative aspects of U.S. history, including “how bad slavery was.” Trump’s social media post minimizing the horrors of chattel slavery came after the White House ordered a far-reaching review of Smithsonian museum exhibitions in order to ensure they align with Trump’s interpretation of U.S. history.
In early 2020, Democracy Now! spoke with the newly appointed secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, Lonnie G. Bunch III, in Washington, D.C. Bunch was previously the founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. He shares stories of the work of building the museum and its collections, and the time when President Trump made a visit during his first term. “The museum has become a pilgrimage site, a site of resistance, a site of remembering what America could be and a site to engage new generations,” said Bunch.
This content originally appeared on Democracy Now! and was authored by Democracy Now!.