Frustrations, fear of erasing history voiced after artifacts returned from African American history museum

Several artifacts are being removed from the National Museum of African American History and Culture, according to the owners of the artifacts.

The removals come after the Trump administration issued an executive order to remove certain pieces of history from the Smithsonian museums in Washington, D.C., one of which is the NMAAHC.

In March, President Donald Trump ordered Vice President JD Vance to oversee the elimination of “improper, divisive, or anti-American” ideology in all the Smithsonian Institution museums.

The Smithsonian Institution, created by Congress in 1846, receives federal funding and is governed by a Board of Regents that includes the vice president.

“Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology,” Trump’s order reads. “This shift has promoted narratives that portray American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.”

A month after the order was issued, the owners of some historical objects loaned to the NMAAHC said their items were being removed from their displays.

Some visitors were shocked to see them gone, saying they strategically planned their visits to be able to see the most artifacts in case some were removed.

Civil rights activist Rev. Amos Brown said he was recently notified that two of the artifacts he loaned to the museum would be returned to him.

He described one of the books written by Rev. George Washington Williams in 1880 as a “precious and most historic book” and the “first history of the Negro race.”

The other book was a Bible he took to demonstrations with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Jesse Jackson.

Brown said he lent the artifacts to the Smithsonian in 2016. He said the museum always gave him the option of donating the books permanently or renewing the loan, but this time he wasn’t asked.

“It is downright dishonest and it is demeaning,” Brown said. “I hope people of good will, of conscience and common sense will rise up and say ‘we need to stop this.’”

Jeff Anderson, a tourist from Louisiana, hoped to see the museum before any changes were made.

“It’s a shame that fear of Black people finding out their history has caused that kind of thing, you know,” Anderson said.

Others who visited the museum before the removals started pointed out the recent changes. Aaron Weaver, a Virginia resident, said the Smithsonian board needs to “step up, plain and simple.”

“I know certain exhibits that were there that were missing, like Nat Turner’s Bible was one,” Weaver said, adding that he was unable to see artifacts from the Greensboro, N.C. lunch counter protest, aside from a digital display.

Linda St. Thomas, the Smithsonian Institute’s chief spokesperson, released a statement in response to visitors seeing artifacts being removed from exhibits.

“The Greensboro, NC, lunch counter is not leaving the Smithsonian. It is on display at the National Museum of American History where it has been for many years,” St. Thomas said. “The National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) also has two stools from the original counter; one is on exhibit at all times, the other rotates in so that they can be properly preserved.”

“The Bible and book belong to Rev. Brown of San Francisco who generously loaned them to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture for an exhibition,” St. Thomas continued in her statement. “The loan agreement expires in May and the items are being returned to the owner which is standard museum practice. The curator called and wrote to Rev. Brown.”

With regard to the loan, NMAAHC added, “As part of our commitment to responsible stewardship, we will continue to honor all loan agreements, including the timely return of objects. These will be going back to the owner.”

But Weaver said that what’s being done is trying to whitewash the African American history. “You can’t wash out African American experience because our experience is the American experience,” he said.