American Promise

On July 24, the National Park Service began installing temporary signs on the walkways leading to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. Following an order by President Trump, visitors are now directed toward a White House report claiming the museum has been captured by “extreme political activism.” Above the entrances to the National Museum of American History, will be these words: “Warning: the exhibits in this museum were prepared by people who don’t want you to love your country.”

As an African American woman, a cultural anthropologist, and a former museum director, I am aware of how dangerous this sign is. Indeed, the words in this warning carry the false and dangerous assumption that an individual or an institution cannot tell the truth about the past in our country and love our country.