Smithsonian
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Source: The Washington Post / Getty
A new executive order from President Donald Trump is aimed at ending funding for Smithsonian museums, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
On Thursday (March 27), President Donald Trump issued a new executive order that squarely targets the Smithsonian Institution—specifically funding for it that promotes programs that advance “improper ideology” and “divisive narratives”. The executive order, entitled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History”, places Vice President JD Vance in charge of the effort to revamp all areas of the Smithsonian, including the National Zoo. Vance has a position on the Smithsonian Board of Regents. The news left many on social media incensed, with some calling it “whitewashing”.
The order explicitly names the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which was completed in 2016 under the administration of former President Barack Obama, the nation’s first Black president. Trump’s order claims that the NMAAHC “has proclaimed that ‘hard work,’ ‘individualism,’ and ‘the nuclear family’ are aspects of ‘White culture’.” It also re-establishes his 1776 Commission which was shelved by former President Joe Biden in 2021, along with a separate order creating a “Task Force 250” focused on creating a “grand celebration” for the nation’s 250th anniversary. Secretary of The Interior Doug Burgm
The order also signals that Trump aims to reinstall and adjust statues and monuments honoring figures from the Confederate Army of the Civil War that were changed or removed before January 1, 2020, to “perpetuate a false reconstruction of American history, inappropriately minimize the value of certain historical events or figures, or include any other improper partisan ideology.” Those statues were removed in the wake of protests over the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
The Smithsonian Institution is the world’s largest museum complex, which is composed of 21 museums – eleven are situated along the National Mall in Washington, D.C. as well as in Virginia and New York. The chief spokesperson for the Smithsonian Institution, Linda St. Thomas, said “We have no comment for now,” in an email to AP News. Former museum executive Laura Raicovich blasted the move in an interview with the New York Times: “The order itself is a clear example of the weaponization of language by the administration to undo the necessary historical correctives undertaken by knowledge institutions in recent years.”
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Source: The Washington Post / Getty
The National Museum of African American History and Culture is set to release a new book capturing the impact of Black music on American society and the world.
In a press release issued on Wednesday (February 23rd), the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) celebrated the release of Musical Crossroads: Stories Behind the Objects of African American Music. The new book covers the impact of Black music on America and the world from the 19th Century to the present day, featuring compelling images of over 200 images of items from the institution’s permanent collection which were featured in a 2017 exhibition by the same name.
“Harriet Tubman’s hymnal, Charlie Parker’s saxophone, Chuck Berry’s Cadillac Eldorado, Sammy Davis Jr.’s childhood tap shoes, the Parliament Funkadelic Mothership—these are among the nearly 4,000 items that make up the music collection stewarded by the National Museum of African American History and Culture,” said NMAAHC Director Kevin W. Young.
The essays in the Musical Crossroads book are contained within five chapters: Music and the Meaning of Things, Roots and Branches, Music in the Community, Music of the Community, I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free, and The Power(s) of Black Music. Essays have been contributed by a select array of writers and researchers, with former NMAAHC Music and Performing Arts Curator Dwandalyn D. Reece serving as editor.
“Music is the great equalizer around the world. No matter where it originates or what form it takes, it has played a crucial role in shaping the human experience and preserving the history of that experience for centuries,” Reece wrote in the press statement. “The museum’s music collection includes celebrated artists, diverse music genres, high-profile professionals, institutions, and historical events, as well as artifacts that reflect the role music plays in the day-to-day lives of individuals in their homes, churches, schools, and local communities.”
The book is published in conjunction with GILES Ltd, a company based in the United Kingdom. Musical Crossroads: Stories Behind the Objects of African American Music will be available to the public for purchase on March 7th, 2023 wherever books are sold.
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