As the USA approaches its 250th anniversary in 2026, we discover ourselves at a pivotal crossroads within the nationwide dialog about id, reminiscence, and who will get to inform our story. This momentous semiquincentennial coincides with the centennial of Negro Historical past Week, which turned Black Historical past Month in 1976. We’re additionally approaching the sixtieth anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. All are highly effective reminders that the story of America is advanced, multifaceted, and nonetheless unfolding.
Celebrating 250 years of nationhood and the centennial of Black historical past being formally commemorated in America is a profound reminder of how far we’ve are available recognizing and institutionalizing the celebration of African American contributions to our nationwide narrative.
On the coronary heart of that unfolding narrative are America’s museums. Typically considered essentially the most trusted sources of public info — greater than the media or the federal government, in line with a 2021 American Alliance of Museums examine — museums are guardians of fact. They protect our collective reminiscence by way of the stewardship of artifacts, oral histories, paperwork, and traditions. And but, even these establishments are underneath risk.
There’s a rising motion in components of the USA to suppress or eradicate uncomfortable truths from the historic report — to take away exhibitions, rewrite narrative, or discourage programming that absolutely displays America’s range. These efforts ought to concern us all. Makes an attempt to erase the contributions of African Individuals from museum galleries should not simply an assault on Black historical past; they’re a warning signal that any neighborhood’s tales will be subsequent.
Erasure of historical past is a risk to all of us.
The Affiliation of African American Museums (AAAM) was based almost 50 years in the past exactly to handle these sorts of injustices — to advocate for the preservation, celebration, and interpretation of Black tales, areas, and establishments. That mission is as important right now because it was in 1978. Our member museums work on the frontlines to make sure that the complete American story is advised, not simply the comfy components.
Vedet Coleman-Robinson, president and CEO of the Affiliation of African American Museums (left), South Carolina Congressman James E. Clyburn (middle), and Tonya Matthews, president and CEO of the Worldwide African American Museum (proper), talk about voting rights in the course of the AAAM’s forty seventh annual convention. (picture by Megapixels Media, courtesy the AAAM)
Let me be clear: decoding culturally numerous tales and artifacts just isn’t what divides us. What divides us is the omission of these tales underneath the pretense of neutrality. Instructing American historical past with out the complete fact is what creates division. Museums don’t create division by presenting info; they construct understanding. They create area for dialogue, therapeutic, and recognition.
That is why our help for leaders like Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III on the Smithsonian Establishment stays unwavering. As the primary African American Secretary of the Smithsonian and a champion of inclusive storytelling, Secretary Bunch understands what’s at stake. His management and his dedication to succession planning that protects range and fairness throughout the establishment is a mannequin for what accountable stewardship of public reminiscence appears like.
Museums are greater than buildings; they’re public belief establishments. And that belief is constructed on a promise to protect the richness of our previous with accuracy, complexity, and care. The American story consists of pleasure and ache, triumph and injustice, brilliance and resilience. It consists of Indigenous nations, enslaved Africans, immigrants, and on a regular basis Individuals who constructed and formed this nation in methods each seen and unseen.
Lonnie G. Bunch III, the 14th secretary of the Smithsonian, talking on the Nationwide Archives Museum on December 4, 2023, in Washington, DC (picture by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Photos for Nationwide Archives Basis)
Eradicating African American tales from this tapestry doesn’t simply hurt Black communities — it impoverishes our understanding of the nation as a complete. If we wish future generations to understand the load and price of America’s 250-year journey, we should be sure that museums are empowered to inform the entire story — not a model that soothes however one which educates and challenges.
AAAM has been, and can stay, on the forefront of that effort. For over 4 a long time, we have now advocated for the inclusion and safety of African-derived histories. We have now honored the legacies of our trailblazers, empowered our member establishments, and geared up museum professionals with the instruments to adapt, resist, and lead. And we aren’t alone. Throughout this nation, hundreds of thousands of individuals go to cultural establishments annually searching for solutions, fact, and connection. We owe it to them — and to ourselves — to ship.
Black historical past will endure. It existed earlier than there have been legal guidelines defending it, and it’ll exist even when these protections are challenged. So long as there are individuals dedicated to reminiscence, museums dedicated to justice, and organizations like AAAM dedicated to preservation, the tales of African Individuals won’t ever be erased.
On the cusp of America 250, allow us to renew our dedication to the complete American story. Allow us to acknowledge that preserving historical past just isn’t a passive act; it’s an act of civic braveness. And allow us to clarify that the function of museums is to not defend us from historical past, however to arrange us for the long run.
Something much less is not only incomplete. It’s dishonest. And on this second, honesty is patriotism.
