{"id":135180,"date":"2025-04-15T11:36:18","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T16:36:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/?p=135180"},"modified":"2025-04-15T11:36:19","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T16:36:19","slug":"cronkite-news-president-trump-targets-smithsonian-in-another-anti-dei-effort","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2025\/04\/15\/cronkite-news-president-trump-targets-smithsonian-in-another-anti-dei-effort\/","title":{"rendered":"Cronkite News: President Trump targets Smithsonian in another anti-DEI effort"},"content":{"rendered":" \"National<\/a>
Entrance of the National African American History and Culture Museum during peak bloom for Washington D.C.\u2019s famous cherry blossom trees. Photo taken on April 1, 2025. Photo by Emma Paterson \/ Cronkite News<\/figcaption>\r\n
Smithsonian museum visitors reject Trump\u2019s view that exhibits are \u2018divisive\u2019 and \u2018woke\u2019<\/div>\r\n
Tuesday, April 15, 2025<\/div>\r\n
By Emma Paterson<\/div>\r\n
Cronkite News<\/DIV>\r\n
cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A><\/DIV>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nWASHINGTON — President Donald Trump\u2019s order to scrub anything \u201cdivisive\u201d from the Smithsonian to shield Americans from \u201cwoke\u201d propaganda has \u2013 at least temporarily \u2013 had the opposite effect.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nVisitors are flocking to see certain exhibits before they\u2019re taken down.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cWe\u2019ve heard about this museum for years but after hearing what Trump has said we made sure to come while we\u2019re here,\u201d said Janine Drake, on vacation from San Diego, after touring the National Museum of African American History and Culture with her mother, Eva.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe Smithsonian Institution is the world\u2019s largest museum, education and research complex. The nation\u2019s capital is home to 17 of its 21 museums, plus the National Zoo, one of the city\u2019s most popular attractions.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nIn a March 27 executive order titled \u201cRestoring Truth and Sanity to American History,\u201d Trump asserted that the museums showcase anti-American propaganda and depict America\u2019s past as \u201cinherently racist, sexist, oppressive, or otherwise irredeemably flawed.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cMuseums in our Nation\u2019s capital should be places where individuals go to learn,\u201d the order says. \u201cNot to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\"National<\/a>

The plaque containing the \u201cdivisive\u201d language Trump highlights in his executive order. The plaque is placed out of sight to the entrance and is easy to miss. Photo taken on April 1, 2025. Photo by Emma Paterson \/ Cronkite News<\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe president\u2019s condemnation doesn\u2019t sit well with tourists interviewed at the museum dedicated to the history of Black Americans.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cWhat does he mean by divisive?\u201d said Jerri Doty from Hampton, Virginia, after touring the museum. \u201cDoes he mean anything honest, anything that does not suit him?\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\nBefore the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of visitors to the Washington facilities routinely topped 25 million people each year. The 2024 total was 16.5 million. Congress created the African American museum in 2003, and when it opened in 2016, it instantly became the second most-popular Smithsonian after the National Air and Space Museum.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nA visit to the African American museum starts on the lowest of five levels, with rooms designed to feel like a cramped slave boat crossing the Atlantic. There\u2019s a real cabin that housed enslaved people on a plantation. Visitors can step inside and imagine the lives of people forced to live there.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nA higher floor is dedicated to Black artists in music, fashion, theater, movies and more. Exhibits explore the role of Black soldiers during the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and the world wars; lynchings; and the fight for civil rights.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nOn a typical day, every level is swarmed with children on field trips, families on vacations and others wanting to learn and reflect.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cHonestly it doesn\u2019t matter what Trump says,\u201d Drake said. \u201cThe fact is, it is very inclusive. There are so many races and stories. Even the welcome sign is in multiple languages. There\u2019s no hatred, it\u2019s just history.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\r\n \"National<\/a>

School field trips trail out of the five-level African American Museum on April 10, 2025. Seven school groups were seen touring in a brief span that Thursday afternoon, reflecting the popularity of the museum. Photo by Emma Paterson \/ Cronkite News<\/figcaption>\r\n

<\/P>\r\nRoxanne Richards, a therapist from New York City, brought her 6-year-old daughter.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cEverything that is in there is part of history,\u201d she said. \u201cThis is our history \u2013 American history. There is nothing divisive about it. If anything, there\u2019s more that could be added, not removed.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThat\u2019s not how the president characterizes it.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nHis executive order asserts that some exhibits and programs \u201cdegrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe order doesn\u2019t just target the African American museum.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nIt also calls out an exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum called \u201cThe Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture.\u201d That exhibit is unacceptable, the order says, because it promotes the idea that race is a social construct rather than a \u201cbiological reality.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThat refers to a statement on a small plaque that visitors could easily walk past without noticing.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe exhibit includes more than 80 sculptures, showcasing different cultures within America.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nIncluding everything from Black identity to Puerto Rican culture to white cowboys, the exhibit showcases the intersection of different races and cultures.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nTrump also criticized a museum that won\u2019t open for at least five years: the Smithsonian American Women\u2019s History Museum, which is under construction.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nTrump\u2019s order says the museum will be \u201ccelebrating the exploits of male athletes participating in women\u2019s sports.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\nMuseum officials have been clear about their intention to include transgender women in exhibits.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cThis is about all American women,\u201d the interim director, Lisa Sasaki<\/a>, told The 19th in an interview two years ago. \u201cWhat we are not wanting to do here is create some artificial definition of what it means to be a woman, but rather to explore the many, many different aspects of that.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\nTrump ordered the museum to \u201ccelebrate the achievements of women\u201d and \u201cnot recognize men as women in any respect.\u201d The order specifically bans any celebration of \u201cmen in women\u2019s sports.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\nDoty, one of the visitors to the museum focused on Black history, rejected Trump\u2019s critique of museums that depict mistreatment of Native Americans and other dark episodes in America\u2019s past.\r\n

<\/P>\r\n\u201cI don\u2019t know what would be left if it was up to Trump,\u201d she said. \u201cSince he\u2019s a racist, sexist, homophobe, the list goes on.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe effects of Trump\u2019s order have not yet taken hold.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nThe Smithsonian is governed by a Board of Regents that includes the vice president, the chief justice of the United State, three senators, three U.S. House members and nine citizen members.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nCongress provided more than $1 billion to the Smithsonian in the 2024 fiscal year, which accounts for about two-thirds of its budget.\r\n

<\/P>\r\nTrump\u2019s order directs Vice President JD Vance to implement his vision and to work with Republican congressional leaders to identify potential regents who would be \u201ccommitted to advancing the policy of this order.\u201d\r\n

<\/P>\r\nFor more stories from Cronkite News, visit cronkitenews.azpbs.org<\/A>.<\/STRONG>\r\n

<\/P>\r\n

Note: This story originally appeared on Cronkite News<\/a>. It is published via a Creative Commons license<\/A>. Cronkite News is produced by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication<\/A> at Arizona State University<\/A>.<\/EM>
\r\n\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"President Donald Trump\u2019s order to scrub anything \u201cdivisive\u201d from the Smithsonian to shield Americans from \u201cwoke\u201d propaganda has \u2013 at least temporarily \u2013 had the opposite effect.","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":135200,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,18,1,14],"tags":[46,346,75,5092,490,47,61,2201],"class_list":["post-135180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-entertainment","category-education","category-national","category-politics","tag-cronkite-news","tag-dc","tag-donald-trump","tag-jd-vance","tag-museums","tag-race","tag-racism","tag-smithsonian","no-wpautop"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/15\/nationalmuseumofafricanamericanhistoryandculture.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcoJ7g-zak","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135180"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":135209,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135180\/revisions\/135209"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}