Trump’s Latest Executive Order Targets The Smithsonian For ‘Divisive, Race-Centered Ideology,’ Critics Push Back: ‘You Cannot Erase Our Past’ – Essence

In a sweeping executive order issued Thursday night, President Donald Trump has directed a comprehensive restructuring of the Smithsonian Institution’s approach to historical representation, specifically targeting exhibitions and narratives related to race, gender and national identity. The order, titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” seeks to fundamentally reshape how national museums present historical narratives.

The order directs Vice President JD Vance, in his role as a member of the Smithsonian’s board of regents, to oversee the removal of what the administration terms “divisive, race-centered ideology” from all of the institution’s properties. Vance is instructed to deny funding to any exhibitions or artworks that allegedly “degrade shared American values.”

As a pointed example of what the administration considers “improper ideology,” the order specifically criticizes the current exhibition The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The exhibition, which examines the role of sculpture in “understanding and constructing the concept of race in the United States,” has now become a focal point of the administration’s cultural policy.

The order’s reach extends beyond racial narratives. It also takes aim at the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum’s efforts to recognize diverse experiences, specifically challenging displays like the 2022 We Belong Here exhibition. That show celebrated women in sport and prominently featured a t-shirt worn by transgender, non-binary skateboarder Leo Baker—representation the order appears to view as problematic.

Following a now-familiar political strategy, the order instructs Vance to work with Congress to tie the Smithsonian’s future funding directly to the administration’s directives. Additionally, it seeks to appoint new “citizen members” to the Board of Regents who are explicitly “committed to advancing the policy of this order.”

In response to the order, Rep. Jasmine Crockett condemned the move, calling it part of a broader effort to erase marginalized voices from both the present and the past. “First Trump removes any reference of diversity from the present—now he’s trying to remove it from our history,” Crockett wrote on X. “Let me be PERFECTLY clear—you cannot erase our past, and you cannot stop us from fulfilling our future.”

This directive represents more than a simple administrative change. It is a deliberate attempt to reshape how American cultural institutions interpret and present historical narratives, particularly those that challenge traditional, often whitewashed versions of national history.

“Museums in our nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn – not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history,” Trump stated in the order, a statement that itself represents a form of ideological positioning.

The order raises concerns about which stories will prioritized and what it could mean for future generations’ understanding of American identity and our collective memory.