Kevin Young, the director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) has been on indefinite personal leave since 14 March, the Washington Post announced on Wednesday. Shanita Brackett, associate director of operations, has been appointed acting director.
Young’s leave came two weeks before Trump’s 27 March Executive Order, ‘Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History’, that specifically targets the Smithsonian Institution, stating that it has ‘come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology’. The Smithsonian Institution is composed of 21 museums including the NMAAHC, the American Women’s History Museum and the National Museum of American History.
The Executive Order, which continues Trump’s war on so-called wokeness, aims to counteract what it labels as a ‘corrosive’ and ‘improper ideology’ that ‘seeks to undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States’. The policies listed in a section titled ‘Saving Our Smithsonian’ include prohibiting expenditure on exhibits or programs that ‘degrade shared American values’ and denying the existence of trans women within the American Women’s History Museum. Section 4, ‘Restoring Truth in American History’, orders the Secretary of the Interior to ensure all public monuments do not ‘disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times)’, and to take action to reinstate monuments that have been removed or changed since January 2020.
