The Assault on Our Most Trusted Institutions: Museums
NOTE: I’ve also recorded an audio version of this essay, too.
When I was about 12, my parents went on a weekend canoe trip with several other couples. My brother and I stayed with our grandparents. It turned out to be a very rainy weekend and part of my parents’ story was about the tent leaking and about rainwater running off the edges of their paper plates at meal time. My grandfather said to me, “If nothing bad happens, what would there be to talk about?”
While I don’t totally agree with that nowadays, it’s a reminder that stories include difficult, annoying, challenging, sad, and frustrating parts. Just like history.
It would be impossible for anyone to tell the story of their life without including the sorrow, the challenges, the loneliness, the moments of distress, even if it was a good life. The good and the bad both happen.
The story of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge ends with a great celebration and a structure that to this day we admire. But you can’t tell the whole story without acknowledging that at least 20 people died during the 14 years of construction.
Building the railroad system across the United States brought new economic opportunities, an ease in transportation, development of towns and cities, and in many ways brought the country together. But the story includes avalanches, displacement of Native Americans, the devastation of forests, and the injury and deaths of hundreds of workers.
Any story, or the telling of any historic event, includes some version of plot, character, setting, and conflict.
Yes, conflict.
Right now, the Trump Administration is trying to shape American history by attacking museums, one of the most trusted institutions in our country. A study by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) shows that museums are thought of as highly trustworthy, second only to family and friends.
This trust is based on the public’s belief that museums are:
Fact-based and research-oriented: The public perceives museums as relying on facts and research, and that they present authentic objects and information.
Impartial/Neutral: Many people trust museums because they see them as nonpartisan and neutral, focused on presenting information objectively.
Have expertise and credibility: Museums are viewed as having expertise and providing credible content through their staff and consulting experts.
Present evidence: Visitors often cite the presence of evidence as a key factor in determining trustworthiness
History includes the uncomfortable and the negative
President Trump and his administration don’t have that same trust in museums as we the American people do. His executive order, Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History, includes the sentence, “This revisionist movement seeks to undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical milestones in a negative light.”
How can you share history, full history, researched history, evidence-based history, without including the sad, horrible, annoying, frustrating, horrific parts of history?
The history of an artist’s or craft person’s life might include times of struggle. Being poor. Being ill. Being injured. Getting divorced. A child dying.
The history of any town or city might include stories about fires that destroyed lives and buildings. Or accidents that happened during construction projects. Or people displaced from their land and homes. Or floods that wiped out parts of the town and where people drowned.
You can’t tell the history of Germany without talking about the Holocaust. You can’t talk about the history of China without including the Rape of Nanking when the Japanese army murdered 300,000 civilians and soldiers.
The history of a country includes all that has happened. The achievements. The monuments. The economic growth. But part of the history is economic downturns such as recession or depression. People who were ignored, demeaned, displaced, or murdered.
And, to bring it back to museums, you can’t tell the full story of a historic house museum by focusing on the rich white man that built it. The story includes his wife, his children, his farmworkers, his craftspeople, his servants, and his enslaved people. And the story isn’t just the big house and its furnishings, it’s also the land, the outbuildings, the food, the traditions, and more.
It seems that President Trump and many in his administration want to see pretty, picturesque history stories. The rich white man as benevolent, generous, and kind. But they all weren’t. The wife as a quiet, demure person in the background. But they all weren’t. The craftspeople as well-treated and well-paid. But they all weren’t. The enslaved people as being taught skills and living a good life. They weren’t.
We can suppose this thinking to be true by the actions of the Administration to scrub federal websites of references to women, people of color, the Tuskegee Airmen, Navajo Talkers, and more. Also, the President fired the Librarian of Congress, a woman of color. He also forced out Kim Sajet, the director of the National Gallery, suggesting that she was part of “divisive narratives.”
Attempts to shrink the impact of museums
The President has been attacking the Smithsonian, known for its extensive collections, its commitment to preservation, and its world-renowned research center. He’s made numerous negative comments about the National Museum of African American History and Culture suggesting that they are distorting history by promoting a "divisive, race-centered ideology.”
The attacks are not just towards the Smithsonian and the National Gallery, but towards small and medium sized museums and libraries across the country. Previously approved grant money that museums and libraries had already counted on, has been rescinded. And they are in the process of dismantling the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS), the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).
Museums are filled with well-educated researchers, historians, and educators focused on their commitment and professionalism to the institutions they work at. People like Lonnie Bunch, Secretary of the Smithsonian, with a B.A., an M.A., and a PhD from American University in Washington D.C. The President’s executive order states, “[The] Smithsonian Institution and its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo, [will seek] to remove improper ideology from such properties.”
I do wonder what improper ideology the National Zoo shares!
It also says, “Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth.”
The Administration doesn’t want certain stories shared. They don’t want certain stories to change. They don’t want certain museums to exist. But they forget that museums are not just history. Not just art. Not just stories told through exhibits. They are community resources. Museums might be considered “third places,” spaces apart from home and work where people can gather, socialize, and build community. These spaces are critical for fostering social connections, providing a sense of belonging, and contributing to overall well-being.
Museums provide space for everyone. They tell stories about everyone. The changing stories of all of us.
Yes, history does change!
Some people, including this Administration, seem to think that history should be treated as an objective record. They believe that attempts to research it, discover new information, and re-shape it according to that scholarship, is politically motivated.
Here’s a small example in my life of how history does change. And how it makes people mad. When I was curator of Biltmore House, the largest historic house in the U.S., I did some research into a pair of intriguing objects. They were “coal braziers.” Shallow rectangular basins, about two feet tall, three feet long and 18 inches wide, four legs, made of two different metals, with small stars soldered inside the basins. They were called coal braziers, although thinking back, I thought of them as coal bins. But I started thinking... How could you scoop out coal with those stars? Wouldn’t the scoop or shovel get stuck on those stars? Maybe they weren’t coal braziers.
I made some calls to other museums. Took a few Polaroid pics (pre cell phone days) and sent them off to various curators and asked what they thought. The consensus was that they were wine coolers. Containers to hold wine bottles and ice next to the table to keep the wine cold yet near the table. It made so much sense! I could picture these sitting on the floor next to the Banquet Hall table. (This was a long time ago so it’s possible that even that acquisition of new knowledge has changed.)
I shared this information with the staff at Biltmore House. They were mad!
I was confused. New research. New information. Why was this a problem? It was mainly what were then called “guards” who were stationed in each room, providing security and answering visitors’ questions, that were mad. They prided themselves on their knowledge of the Biltmore House collection. They had learned the history of the Vanderbilt family and details about the art and furnishings throughout the House. They felt like I was upending their hard-earned knowledge. They wondered, did my discovery mean that they had been saying something wrong for all the years they had worked at Biltmore? I explained that if information wasn’t changing, then I wasn’t doing my job.
How does history change?
The discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, in the mid-20th century, dramatically reshaped scholars' understanding of early Judaism and the roots of Christianity. Should exhibits and books about religion have ignored that new information?
The Middle Ages used to be thought of as the Dark Ages. The Middle Ages are now understood to be a period of scientific, artistic, and cultural growth in many parts of the world. Should exhibits and books about that era have stayed stuck on past interpretations of the Middle Ages?
For decades, WWII history focused primarily on male soldiers and generals. Over time, historians began researching and highlighting women’s roles. They learned and shared about code breaking at Bletchley Park (a top-secret British site that employed many women), factory work by women in the U.S., and more. Should that new knowledge have been ignored?
Museums are doing what they’re supposed to do
The American Alliance of Museums represents 35,000 museums and museum professionals. Their definition of museums is, “A non-profit, permanent institution that serves society and its development by acquiring, conserving, researching, communicating, and exhibiting the tangible and intangible heritage of humanity and the environment for the purposes of education, study, and enjoyment. This definition emphasizes the public trust aspect, where museums hold collections in trust for the public's benefit and are accountable to the communities they serve.”
Museums are important to Americans
Americans believe in museums. They visit museums. Did you know that more people visit museums than attend to all major league sporting events and theme parks each year? Museums attract approximately 850 million visitors annually. Most Americans love museums. Visit museums. Believe in museums. Talk about museums.
A visit to a museum is a search for beauty, truth, and meaning in our lives. Go to museums as often as you can. — Maira Kalman
A museum is a spiritual place. People lower their voices when they get close to art. —Mario Buatta
It is as much the conversations between objects as between us and objects that make museums so valuable. — Antony Gormley
I love the Country Music Hall of Fame. I don't think it's just a hall of fame and it's not just a museum. It's a schoolhouse. It's a place where people from all across the world can come and learn about this great genre. — Josh Turner
The need for reflection and restraint of power is what led Louis Freeh to order that all new agent classes visit the Holocaust Museum here in Washington so they could see and feel and hear in a palpable way the consequences of abuse of power on a massive, almost unimaginable scale. — James Comey
Museums, I love museums! — Tony Randall
How can you help?
As museums struggle due to reduced funding, attacks on their professionalism, and attempts to reduce their role within American society, how can we help? Each of is different and each museum is different, but here are a few suggestions.
Visit
Maybe you haven’t visited a museum in a while. Go! Show your support whether your hometown museum is a nationally-recognized natural history museum, a regional art museum, or a local historical society.
Become a member
Find a museum you believe in and purchase an annual membership. You might even select a museum across the country that you never plan to visit. Do it to show you believe in their mission.
Buy something from an online museum gift shop
Support a museum’s mission by buying an item for yourself or as a gift.
Volunteer
Museums have worked hard to shift their volunteer opportunities from the traditional once a week shifts onsite, to include short-term special event support, or even projects that can be done from home.
Contact Congress
Yes, even now, we should make sure our Senators and Representatives know that we disagree with defunding museums and attacking their credibility.
What will you do to support museums? How will you stand up for museums?
Resources:
We Trust Museums: We Believe in Museums
NOTE: I wrote this in support of museums and in frustration at what’s happening to their important role in our society. At the same time, I’m fully cognizant that museums aren’t perfect. They, like all organizations, have made mistakes. However, that is for another essay.
Thank you for reading this essay! I appreciate your time and your delight in museums. I write about exceptional museums, what irks me about museums, how museums enhance our wellbeing, my time as curator of Biltmore House, and how we can look with new eyes at museums, art, and other cultural experiences. To learn more about me and my background, check out my About page. Thanks a lot!
Thank you, Jeanette! It’s a topic that’s been nagging at me, frustrating me, and upsetting me so I felt I had to speak up.
Thanks for this very interesting topic. I'm always on the look out for MORE museums,historic sites, libraries etc. to visit and would be heartbroken if places start closing. It's very ignorant for people to think that the knowledge we have is all there is. As we find new information the history changes. To me it just makes history richer. It doesn't detract from the history we have, it just adds another layer. Every country is multi-dimensional with many different people and their stories. The sad thing is ignorance breeds fear, and fear is what drives this kind of behavior.