Why is the Trump Administration Threatening the National Museum of African American History and Culture?

The Smithsonian Institute is one of the latest targets of Donald Trump’s war against diversity . . . and truth.

On Thursday (March 27), Trump signed an executive order targeting The Smithsonian Institution, a vast collection of research centers, museums and galleries, including National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Called the “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History”, the White says the order of the goal is “revitalizing key cultural institutions and reversing the spread of divisive ideology.”

The order puts Vice President JD Vance, who serves on the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents, in charge of overseeing efforts to “remove improper ideology” from all areas of the institution, including its museums, education and research centers. Trump singled out the National Museum of African American History and Culture, which opened in 2016 near the White House, the Women’s History Museum, which is in development, and the American Art Museum for criticism. Under Trump’s order, Vance would work with the White House budget office to cancel funding for Smithsonian Institution programs that “degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with federal law and policy.”

In short, the plan would be to defund programming that tells the truth of the nation’s history or celebrates diversity and inclusion in any way, falling in line with the Trump administration’s ongoing attack against all things DEI . . . and attacks against common sense.

The executive order also suggests that the Trump administration wants to restore Confederate statues and monuments, many of which were taken down or replaced around the country after the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020 and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement.

U.S. Rep. Troy A. Carter, Sr., released a statement decrying the Trump administration threats against the National Museum of African American History and Culture:

“We will not stand by as our history is dismissed, diminished, or defunded. The National Museum of African American History and Culture is not ‘divisive’—it is essential. It tells the truth of a people who built this nation, endured its greatest injustices, and still rise to shape its future with brilliance, faith, and resilience.

“To call this sacred space ‘corrosive’ is not only ignorant—it is a deliberate attempt to silence the truth and erase the legacy of generations who sacrificed for justice, progress, and equality. We reject this rhetoric and any effort to undermine the telling of Black history, which is American history. We demand full support and protection for this institution and every effort that honors the dignity, struggles, and contributions of African Americans.”

What Can Happen?

The Smithsonian is not a federal agency, but a private-public partnership that receives federal funding. Some employees are civil servants, while other positions are funded through trust funds.

Nonetheless, Smithsonian leaders already yielded to earlier threats by the administration. In response to a January executive order from President Trump, which forbid organizations receiving federal funds from operating Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs, the Smithsonian closed it’s diversity office.