The past few months have been grueling for America’s art and music institutions, which have come under threat as President Donald Trump takes aim at dismantling diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives across the country.
Following Trump’s takeover of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts – and its subsequent cascade of program and artist cancellations following the news of the president appointing himself chairman – Trump announced his executive order to eliminate “anti-American ideology” from the Smithsonian Institution. He directed that Vice President JD Vance lead the purge within the institution, including its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo.
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Trump targeted the National Museum of African American History, which he claimed promoted the idea that “hard work,” “individualism,” and “the nuclear family” are facets of “White culture,” while also criticizing the Women’s History Museum, which is in development, for its “plans on celebrating the exploits of male athletes participating in women’s sports.”
The president seems hellbent on the erasure of anything remotely DEI-related and drew widespread backlash earlier this month after the removal of numerous Black, Latino, and women webpage memorials from the Pentagon’s Arlington National Cemetery website. Some of the pages were later restored and artificial intelligence was blamed for the accidental takedowns.
Trump’s Department of Education has also launched a new portal for Americans to snitch the DEI efforts at their local public schools.
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Per his order on Thursday, spending will be prohibited on exhibits or programs that “degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy.” He stated that Vance and the Director of the Office of Management and Budget will work with Congress to overlook future appropriations to the Smithsonian Institution.
The Smithsonian spans 21 museums and, per its website, is the world’s largest museum, education and research complex, encompassing 14 education and research centers, and the National Zoo – “shaping the future by preserving heritage, discovering new knowledge, and sharing our resources with the world.” As the Trump administration tightens its grip on America’s history, which parts of the country’s heritage will be preserved remains to be seen.