The Whitewashing of American History and Art

"Critical Race Theory" painting by Jonathan Harris

In an Executive Order signed March 27th, Donald Trump took aim at institutions promoting “divisive, race-centered ideology“, specifically naming The Smithsonian and their exhibit called “The Shape of Power in American Art”, and decried the work of National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The Vice President is now instructed to investigate and remove all “improper ideologies” from the Smithsonian’s museums, education and research centers as well as anything deemed offensive at The National Zoo.

This latest erasure by the administration began early February when Donald Trump took over as chair of the Kennedy Center (which falls under the bureau of the Smithsonian), and purged the 18 member board and replaced them with his supporters. Never before has a sitting President served on the board of the Center, let alone chair, and the traditional system of 6 year terms by administration appointments were largely seen as non-partisan. Though never having seen a show at the Kennedy Center before, Trump lamented that the Kennedy Center honors has been celebrating “radical left lunatics”.

The Social Impact team, which performed outreach to local underserved communities as artists and visitors, has since been dismantled; the only remaining employees did not have a focus on equity as a job description.

Also in February the Pentagon was instructed to remove all “DEI content” from military websites, and people were quick to notice the erasure of the achievements of historically underrepresented groups, such as Navajo code talkers, Tuskegee Airmen, medal of honor winners, and women veterans. A page dedicated to Jackie Robinson was deleted, and eventually restored after a massive outcry; the baseball legend and longtime fighter against racial injustice was also a WWII veteran and reached the rank of second lieutenant.

Trump also instructed the Secretary of Interior to look into whether statues and monuments removed in the the wake of the Black Lives Matter Movement could fall under the Interior’s jurisdiction, and restore them, including potentially those celebrating the Confederacy.

Whether the attacks on artistic freedom of speech end with the Kennedy center, or if another executive order will further narrow the scope of what defines the American Experience is in the works remains to be seen.

But these latest actions are setting a distressing tone.

As George Orwell wrote in ”1984”, “Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past.”