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Author
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Topic: White House review of Smithsonian exhibitions
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Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 56850
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-12-2025 11:33 PM
   
collectSPACE White House extends review of Smithsonian exhibits to include Air and SpaceThe National Air and Space Museum has fallen under the scrutiny of the White House following President Donald Trump's directive to restore what he has called "truth and sanity" to how the Smithsonian exhibits and presents American history. The Air and Space on Tuesday (Aug. 12) was identified as one of eight museums that will be the first to be subject to a "comprehensive internal review." In a letter sent to Lonnie Bunch, Secretary of the Smithsonian, the White House described the audit as ensuring that current and planned displays support the President's call to "celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions."  |
onesmallstep
Member Posts: 1570
From: Staten Island, New York USA
Registered: Nov 2007
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posted 08-14-2025 07:59 AM
In other words, 'censorship' and 'whitewashing.' This administration has shown it has no respect for history and people's intelligence. It removed a photo and references to Harriet Tubman, a noted African-American leader in the Underground Railroad anti-slavery movement during the US Civil War, from National Park Service websites; a public outcry had them restored. What will the 'edits' at the Air and Space Museum consist of? Downplaying Amelia Earhart's achievements as too 'woke'? Minimizing the struggle of African-American pilots who went through Tuskegee training during WW2 to gain acceptance, fighting for freedom abroad while facing discrimination at home? History can sometimes be ugly, as well as inspiring; difficult as well as hopeful. You have to take it all in order to understand where we've been, and where we're going. That's the mark of a great nation. |
denali414
Member Posts: 929
From: Raleigh, NC
Registered: Aug 2017
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posted 08-14-2025 08:07 AM
Already tried to eliminate Tuskegee in military history, so will not be surprised if try again. They eliminated all "Enola Gay" photos and reference as woke, until someone told them it was a A-bomb plane! Navajo windtalkers also removed until public outcry changed. |
Axman
Member Posts: 947
From: Derbyshire UK
Registered: Mar 2023
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posted 08-14-2025 09:28 AM
Overzealous and partisan opinions of museum quality items, where they should be stored and by whom, is becoming infantile and destructive. |
dom
Member Posts: 1153
From:
Registered: Aug 2001
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posted 08-14-2025 11:12 AM
Can’t wait for their planned 2026 exhibition exploring the history of “Jewish Space Lasers”… |
capoetc
Member Posts: 2449
From: McKinney TX (USA)
Registered: Aug 2005
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posted 08-14-2025 11:37 AM
If you have visited Smithsonian museums over the past 20 years or so, then you have seen the slow but steady editing of history for the purpose of re-crafting (through a certain lens) how and why things happened as they did. There are many, many examples of this.For what its worth, though, I think this thread has high potential to run off the rails, so Robert, you might have your hands full here!  |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 56850
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-14-2025 12:13 PM
I appreciate the concern and would simply ask all to try to keep this discussion focused on aerospace topics and how they specifically relate to the National Air and Space Museum's exhibits. |
MarylandSpace
Member Posts: 1451
From:
Registered: Aug 2002
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posted 08-14-2025 12:34 PM
...inventorying the entire National Air and Space Museum collection (within days). Unbelievable. |
Liembo
Member Posts: 921
From: Bothell, WA
Registered: Jan 2013
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posted 08-14-2025 01:13 PM
Staying in our lanes is how we got here. |
dom
Member Posts: 1153
From:
Registered: Aug 2001
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posted 08-14-2025 02:24 PM
Apologies, although the situation is ripe for satire, suffice to say it’s best to leave museum curation to the professionals. |
p51
Member Posts: 1795
From: Olympia, WA
Registered: Sep 2011
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posted 08-14-2025 04:39 PM
The pendulum has swung to the other extreme. People forget about the display of the B-29 "Enola Gay" years ago with an intended display that made the US military look like a bunch of war criminals for nuking Japanese cities. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 56850
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-14-2025 05:33 PM
The irony is it didn't matter what the exhibit showed — after it was canceled, the display of the restored aircraft alone was enough for protestors to throw red paint at it at the Udvar-Hazy Center.The key difference between what happened then and what is happening now is that it was not the government throwing the paint. Members of the military may have been unhappy about the approach, but the Department of Defense didn't try to reclaim ownership of the plane, nor did the White House assert any ability to rewrite the placards. |
Dave Ginsberg
Member Posts: 243
From: Redmond, Washington, USA
Registered: Dec 2007
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posted 08-15-2025 12:08 AM
quote:
Originally posted by onesmallstep:
In other words, 'censorship' and 'whitewashing.' This administration has shown it has no respect for history and people's intelligence.
Well put, onesmallstep, and those that also echo these sentiments. |
SpaceAholic
Member Posts: 5584
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-15-2025 03:08 PM
The previous administration removed statues, renamed military bases, implemented policy and regulations in an attempt to compel controversial cultural changes - the point being most administrations shape the information environment to align with their respective philosophy and narratives (they may just go about it in different ways). |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 56850
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-15-2025 03:16 PM
The statues and military bases were properties within the local or federal government's control. They didn't remove private property or try to exert control over institutions that are not part of the government.The Smithsonian is an independent entity. It receives public funding but so does the U.S. Postal Service and the government does not exert control over who or what gets depicted on postage stamps. The issue here is not shifting cultures but exerting control over entities that have operated independent of government oversight since they were established. |
SpaceAholic
Member Posts: 5584
From: Sierra Vista, Arizona
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-15-2025 03:56 PM
It's governance is not (independent) however per US statute (20 U.S. Code § 41 and 42). |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 56850
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 08-15-2025 05:25 PM
Right, but it isn't the Board of Regents who have called for a review. Just because certain members of the board are also government officials does not mean the White House or the two others branches of the government have purview over the content of the Smithsonian's exhibitions.All previous administrations and Congresses understood that and held to it, limiting the oversight to building design and infrastructure concerns. What this White House is doing is unprecedented in the Smithsonian's 179 years. |
Robert Pearlman
Editor Posts: 56850
From: Houston, TX
Registered: Nov 1999
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posted 07-24-2026 08:22 PM
President Trump on Friday (July 24) ordered warning signs and exhibits installed outside the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History to alert the public that the museum does not, in his view, accurately reflect U.S. history.The executive order is a follow-up to a 162-page report (PDF) written by members of the administration that was critical of the museum's exhibits as not being celebratory enough of the country's founding and the events that have followed. The Report demonstrates that the Smithsonian leadership does not present American history as a shared national inheritance to be taught and celebrated, but instead views American history as a "prime tool" to advance ideas of social justice and the radical transformation of our society. The Report also overwhelmingly demonstrates that current leadership of both the Smithsonian Institution and the Museum cannot be trusted to tell America's story with honesty and gratitude. The White House said it plans to turn its focus on other Smithsonian museums. |
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