There is a 'longtime pattern' of political activism at the Smithsonian: ACLJ senior litigation counsel
Lawsuit plaintiff Jane Kihne and ACLJ senior litigation counsel Abigail Southerland discuss the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum allegedly removing Catholic school students for wearing pro-life hats in 2023 on ‘The Ingraham Angle.’
That’s the impression you would get if you visited the exhibit on Entertainment Nation at the American History Museum on the National Mall — the Smithsonian Institution’s flagship museum that explains to between 2 million and 4 million visitors every year what America is all about, and why.
You won’t find any permanent exhibit on the Founding Fathers or the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
But you will find a display that claims one of America’s most beloved and iconic cartoon characters, Mickey Mouse, was actually inspired by blackface minstrelsy — an entertainment trend directly linked to the demeaning of African Americans in our past.
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Does that mean the Smithsonian thinks Mickey is a racist symbol? In congressional testimony on July 22, Museum’s Director Anthea Hartig said no, but she’s not fooling anyone.
President Donald Trump has ordered a review of the Smithsonian's content, as part of the yearlong 250th birthday of the United States' founding. (Getty)
The bitter truth is, the woke toxin that has been destroying American education has spread deep into our national museum culture — corrupting even the ones that most represent who we are to foreign visitors.
Those hearings demonstrated just how far the poison has spread, and how administrators continue to deny or cover it up.
- In addition to smearing Mickey Mouse as an artifact of the historical denigration of Blacks, the Museums as a Site for Social Action (MASS Action) Toolkit, a guide for radicalizing museums which the Smithsonian approves as a reference work, cites virtues such as "politeness" and "objectivity" as part of White supremacist culture. (Director Hartig claims the museum doesn’t use the toolkit).
- The 1619 Project proclaiming that slavery, not freedom, lies at the root of our identity as a nation, has been heavily integrated into exhibits at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture — even though the project itself has been debunked as a tissue of historical distortions and outright lies.
- The African American Museum also has a lurid fascination with violent Marxists such as Angela Davis and Stokely Carmichael, while it was only after considerable protest and outrage that it finally conceded part of an exhibit to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
- Two national monuments outside Washington D.C., Monticello and Montpelier, have fully embraced the woke agenda, and turned the homes of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison into propaganda centers for leftist messaging regarding slavery in America instead of celebrating the contributions of two of our greatest founders.
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This takeover by the radical left has been going on for years, as its practitioners have crafted a view of history that systematically denigrates America, while turning words like diversity and inclusion into guided missiles for attacking our most important institutions.
And the blame falls squarely on conservatives.
The bitter truth is, the woke toxin that has been destroying American education has spread deep into our national museum culture — corrupting even the ones that most represent who we are to foreign visitors.
They watched as the radical left took over our universities and colleges, and did nothing.
They frowned a little as the left took over K-12 education, but did nothing.
They squirmed when the left took over Monticello and Montpelier, but again did nothing.
Now a DSA-style agenda has infected our most important museums in the nation’s capital.
The shame is, there’s such a great story that our national museums could be telling.
From left, Anthea Hartig, director of the Smithsonian Institute's National Museum of American History, Mike Gonzalez, The Heritage Foundation, and Matthew Spalding, dean of Hillsdale College's Van Andel Graduate School of Government, testify during a House hearing titled "Rewriting American History: Examining the Smithsonian's Efforts to Reshape the Past," on Tuesday, July 21, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
It’s a story of how our founding on the principles of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness has been the guiding light in our history for 250 years. Our most dramatic episodes, from the American Revolution and the Civil War to the building of the transcontinental Railroad and the rise of American industry and technology, all show that same Founders’ spirit and drive that animates what we call American exceptionalism.
It’s also a story of how women, African Americans, Native Americans and immigrants of every color and background have struggled but also triumphed in their pursuit of the American Dream. Their story is an inspiring saga which we continue to see unfold before us — one that still draws millions to our shores in pursuit of the same dream.
In short, America’s story is one of the greatest, most exciting, and most inspiring, adventures in all history. The radical left, however, is determined to turn that story into an extended horror movie. Our Smithsonian museums are only their latest theaters for spreading their lies and distortions.
Now, finally, Texas Republican Rep. Brandon Gill and his colleagues have publicly exposed the threat, with their hearings. So has the White House, with its Domestic Policy Council report detailing how the Smithsonian has been captured by a radical, activist ideology. It’s time for ordinary Americans to stand up against the radical denigration of their country and its culture.
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Even liberals should be horrified at what’s happened. We can quote the words of an iconic liberal historian, Arthur Schlesinger Jr., who wrote more than three decades ago:
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"If we repudiate the quite marvelous inheritance that history bestows on us, we invite the fragmentation of the national community into … cultural and linguistic apartheid."
Apartheid is precisely what the left wants, in order to seize power. Now, in our 250th anniversary, it’s time to turn the telling of history in our nation’s capital from condemnation to celebration.
