Smithsonian leader revisits history during HBCU stop, White House revisioning it
The crowd is listening to Lonnie G. Bunch III, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, during the James A. Forbes, Sr. Lecture Series at Shaw University March 19, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Shaw University)
RALEIGH, N.C. — During question-and-answer time inside Shaw University’s Estey Hall, when Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III was featured at the James A. Forbes, Sr. Lecture Series, a North Carolina Black Alliance (NCBA) representative asked if he was worried about experiencing what happened to the former director of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
“You mean do I worry about getting fired?” Bunch quipped.
The crowd laughed, and Bunch was having fun with the bit, before getting serious.
“I will probably get fired at some point,” Bunch said. “But I think the goal would be to, sort of, fight the fight as long as you can.”
Executive orders reshaping history
In February, President Trump took control of the Kennedy Center, which is regarded as a national cultural clearinghouse. He shuffled the center’s board of directors, getting rid of those out of step with his conservative worldview and filling their seats with supporters, who subsequently elected him chairman. Deborah Rutter stepped down as Kennedy Center president. The newly constructed board replaced her with Richard Grenell, who this year began serving as White House envoy for special missions.
About a week after Bunch’s visit to Shaw, a historically Black university, the president added to his mounting list of executive orders. This one’s called: “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History.” The order targets the Smithsonian for promoting “divisive, race-centered ideology” and calls out the National Museum of African American History and Culture for proclaiming “‘hard work,’ ‘individualism,’ and ‘the nuclear family’ are aspects of ‘White culture.’” The late architect Phil Freelon, a Black man who lived in Durham, led the museum’s design team. Bunch served as its founding director and, by the way, is the first Black person to lead the Smithsonian, the world’s largest museum, education and research complex.
Democracy danger zone
On the strength of the executive order, it’s Vice President JD Vance’s job to pick apart what Bunch has built by removing so-called anti-American themes from the Smithsonian, which receives federal funding. The vice president was appointed to the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents this year. He and the president remain outspoken about initiatives advancing diversity equity and inclusion, or DEI. North Carolina elected officials piggybacking those politics have similar legislation pending in the General Assembly.
“Executive orders outlining funding cuts and programmatic restructuring for federally funded museums, libraries and cultural institutions will continue to have a trickle-down effect in North Carolina,” said Hasani Mitchell, NCBA’s democracy and economy coordinator. “The administration’s executive orders have both cultural and economic impacts. African American museums and institutions which promote the arts allow North Carolinians opportunities to connect with the rich tapestry of Black history and culture, which undoubtedly is American history.”
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is among the federal entities targeted by the current White House administration. The IMLS — its employees are on paid administrative lead — has supplemented organizations including Charlotte’s Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture and Durham’s Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice.
North Carolina’s nonprofit creative sector fuels more than $2.23 billion in annual economic activity, and agencies such as the North Carolina Arts Council and the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources are tasked with implementing state funding, Mitchell explained.
“State funds earmarked for the arts should champion the culture and contributions of African Americans in our state. If the state legislature sides with the current administration’s ideology, then overall funding priorities would likely change,” Mitchell said.
“Black Issues Forum” executive producer Deborah Holt Noel listens to Lonnie G. Bunch III, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, during the James A. Forbes, Sr. Lecture Series at Shaw University March 19, 2025. (Photo courtesy of Shaw University)
Navigating chaos
It all amounts to revisiting history versus revisionist history, America’s timeline holding the truth in tension.
“The Smithsonian, with me at the leadership, is considered the best example of DEI leadership — you know, a woke leader,” Bunch said. “So they’ll come after the Smithsonian. I get it. I think that the most important thing for me is to help the staff continue to do the work they need to do, because the challenge is, with all that’s going on, people get paralyzed.”
One of NCBA’s strategies is equipping individuals to raise their voices to demand better from those in power. Bunch said that approach applies to attacks on entities like the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian.
“The question is when will people step up,” Bunch offered. “It really is beyond what these institutions can do. They need, kind of, a groundswell of support.”
Bunch has worked in museums for three decades. His job in the coming days figures to be his most curious curation.
“The reality is nobody’s immune. We plan every day for significant budget cuts,” Bunch said. “I’ve done scenarios with budget cuts as much as 40%, which means you have to reimagine the Smithsonian.”