The Metro: Can museums maintain public trust amid Trump pressure on Smithsonian?
The Smithsonian Institution has changed some exhibitions and submitted documents about upcoming programming to the White House for a review of “improper ideology.” Devon Akmon, director of the MSU Museum, joins the Metro to discuss how the pressure campaign will impact American museums, culture and history.
The Trump administration wants American museums to be less critical of the nation’s history.
Yesterday, the Smithsonian Institution submitted documents about upcoming exhibitions and programming to the White House for a review of “improper ideology.”
Since last year, President Trump has been pressuring the Smithsonian Institution to celebrate American exceptionalism, and not to focus so much on the ugliest parts of American history, like the institution of slavery.
What the president does next remains to be seen, but the effort to censor and rewrite history and culture raises important questions about American culture and history.
Though museums are suddenly politicized spaces, they’re among the most trusted institutions in America, according to a survey by the American Alliance of Museums.
Devon Akmon, director of the Michigan State University Museum, argues that museums have an opportunity and responsibility to model the ways people can think and listen together.
He joined The Metro to discuss the implications of President Trump’s pressure campaign on the Smithsonian and cultural institutions in America.
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