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Administration Tries to Pretend Slavery Never Happened

August 26, 2025

The Trump White House has launched a public attack against the Smithsonian Institution, publishing an article that condemns the museum's educational content about slavery, racism, and inequality in America. The administration specifically criticized the National Museum of African American History and Culture for explaining how America has privileged whiteness, dismissing such scholarship as "anti-American propaganda. " This confrontation represents part of a broader effort to rewrite American history by minimizing the significance of slavery, Jim Crow segregation, redlining, and other forms of systemic racism that have shaped the nation.

Who is affected

  • The Smithsonian Institution and its museums, particularly the National Museum of African American History and Culture
  • Black Americans whose historical experiences are being minimized or erased
  • The National Museum of African Art
  • Educators, historians, and scholars who study and teach about systemic racism
  • The American public who relies on museums for historical education

What action is being taken

  • The Trump White House is publicly criticizing the Smithsonian on the official White House website
  • The administration is characterizing the Smithsonian's exhibits as "anti-American propaganda"
  • The White House is dismissing scholarship about slavery's legacy in the Texas Revolution
  • The administration is ridiculing art that addresses the Middle Passage
  • The White House is condemning programs that document systemic exclusion in immigration and housing

Why it matters

  • This represents an attempt to control the national narrative about American history
  • Downplaying historical oppression could undermine arguments for addressing modern inequities
  • The attack challenges the educational mission of national museums
  • The confrontation is part of a broader effort to redefine what is considered "American"
  • Erasing historical truths about racism dishonors the experiences of generations of Black Americans
  • The administration's position could influence how history is taught and understood

What's next

  • No explicit next steps stated in the article

Read full article from source: The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint