Black Americans respond to institutional threats with strategic organizing, cultural expression, and community resilience that ensures our history remains uncontained.
Step into the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and immerse yourself in the core of a uniquely American story. Through exhibits, storytelling, and historical documentation, the museum presents Black Americans' enduring strength, significant contributions, and painful struggles. The museum has established a space built on the promise of delivering 'unvarnished truth.' However, Americans are witnessing a coordinated effort to undermine institutions that strive to provide an honest account of this nation's past. The NMAAHC's halls are now shrouded in a chilling political atmosphere, as those who perceive education as indoctrination, especially when it challenges their preferred narrative, seek to sanitize the history the museum presents. The situation is urgent, and the need for action is immediate.
The museum is currently facing a new and unnecessary challenge due to a recent executive order from a wanna-be authoritarian administration that seeks to undermine what it labels as revisionist history. Their order aims to discredit historical narratives that address America's complex issues, including the legacies of colonization, slavery, and systemic oppression. To say nothing about the fact that museums like the NMAAHC rely on rigorous scholarship and verifiable evidence. Scholars and activists opposing the executive order argue that labeling this essential work as mere revisionism is inaccurate and represents a deliberate attempt to silence perspectives that challenge an idealized version of American history, which those in power have often written.
Historian Ibram X. Kendi described the attack on the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) as a direct assault on Black America. He cautioned that this strategy could be aimed at depriving already under-resourced institutions of support, leading to a situation where only institutions promoting political propaganda would present America's history. The NMAAHC was established to address this historical imbalance by providing a more complete and accurate account of history.
Consider the museum's powerful exhibition, Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience. Standing before David Hammons' powerful piece, "African-American Flag," visitors come face-to-face with the familiar stars and stripes boldly reimagined in the Pan-African flag colors of red, black, and green, replacing the patriotic red, white, and blue. This artwork doesn't just hang; it challenges and compels museum visitors to grapple with identity, patriotism, and the unfulfilled promises of freedom for Black Americans. Exhibits designed to foster healing through truth and reconciliation would be rebranded as divisive and promoting improper ideology under this deliberately vague executive order. This administration's brazen overreach tramples curatorial independence, actively censoring artworks and installations that dare to challenge entrenched dominant narratives.
Through exhibits, storytelling, and historical documentation, the museum presents Black Americans' enduring strength, significant contributions, and painful struggles.
What aspects of history are considered sufficiently patriotic by those advocating revisionism? To explore this idea, we can contrast two iconic representations of key moments in American history:
George Washington Seeking Liberty: Emanuel Leutze's famous painting, "Washington Crossing the Delaware" (1851), dramatically depicts George Washington leading troops during a pivotal moment in the Revolutionary War. This artwork serves as an archetypal representation of the Founding Fathers, showcasing decisive leadership, creating a nation in the face of external challenges, and inspiring heroism. The painting has become a widely recognized symbol of traditional American pride.
Malcolm X Seeking Liberty: Gordon Parks's powerful photograph, "Malcolm X Addressing Black Muslim Rally in Chicago" (1963), captures Malcolm X as he delivers an impassioned speech to a rally audience. This photograph challenges conventional narratives surrounding Black leadership and self-determination. It confronts systemic racism and demands liberation from oppressors. The image represents a compelling vision of freedom, supported by firsthand accounts of living Americans and the evidence provided by the photograph.
When placed side by side, these works reveal a stark disparity: some struggles for liberation are enshrined in national mythology, while others are systematically erased from America's historical consciousness.
It is unclear how this executive order will impact the museum's offerings, but political pressures are becoming increasingly concerning. In the current political climate, this deliberate ambiguity threatens to undermine the historical record that Black Americans have every right to preserve.
This assault on the NMAAHC represents just one front in a sweeping, hasty power grab extending far beyond museum walls. The draconian administration is simultaneously targeting prestigious universities, law firms, media organizations, and virtually every sector of American society with similar tactics of intimidation and control. Their coordinated campaign seeks to rapidly dismantle institutions of accountability and reshape historical understanding before meaningful resistance can mobilize. What begins with controlling narratives in our cultural institutions inevitably expands to threaten the foundations of our democracy itself.
ACLU Foreshadowed Museum Executive Order
This is not the first time that Black Americans have encountered efforts to marginalize or erase our history. The museum itself is a testament to centuries of resistance against such erasure. We respond to these challenges with righteous indignation, cultural resilience, and strategic adaptation because historical memory is survival. These approaches have been refined through generations of struggle and are now documented within the walls of the NMAAHC. When forces of power seek to disconnect us from our traumatic past, particularly the legacy of slavery, they create a calculated gap in America's moral ledger that conveniently erases the basis for reparative justice. This deliberate forgetting makes conversations about reparations seem disconnected from reality rather than the logical conclusion of an unpaid debt. The strength of the Black community is a source of inspiration and hope for all who face injustice; our insistence on remembering is an act of resistance against those who benefit from collective amnesia.
Black Americans understand the fundamental shortcomings in the administration's approach. Rather than reacting with the predictable outrage the administration might seek to provoke, we adopt a familiar strategic plan that has previously led to significant victories, such as Brown v. Board of Education and other milestones in the Civil Rights movement. Our blueprint for resistance involves strategic legal challenges, grassroots activism, and community building. This approach is thoroughly documented in the exhibits at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), serving as a roadmap for Black Americans and everyone who faces injustice.
Virtual Tour of "Reckoning: Protest. Defiance. Resilience." Exhibition led by Former NAAMHC Director, Kevin Young & Curator, Tuliza Fleming
Our responses must function on multiple levels. This means supporting and engaging with established organizations like the NAACP, ACLU, and the Legal Defense Fund while working strategically through courts and legal channels. Additionally, it involves leveraging newer, policy-focused organizations such as Black Lives Matter and Color of Change, amongst others. It is important to recognize the efforts of dedicated, constitutionally-minded officials like New York Attorney General Letitia James, who stands against lawlessness and tyranny by upholding the rule of law. Alongside these formal mechanisms, we can build strength through shared cultural experiences that unify our communities at the grassroots level.
Communal restoration is equally important. Take, for example, how line dancing to songs like "Boots on the Ground" has spread across the country. This phenomenon is not a planned form of resistance but a unifying force that brings our people together through joyful cultural expression. Such community-building reflects the profound wisdom of Black America, transforming everyday practices into bonds that sustain collective endurance. That same cultural energy fueled protest music and pro-Black art; it now fuels visual storytelling and the written word on platforms like TikTok and Substack. Our community resilience is a force that unites and empowers us all.
Joyful Resistance: Black Communities Unite Through 'Boots on the Ground
The history of our people offers a vital lesson that transcends race. Past Civil Rights struggles have demonstrated that raising the tide against inequality lifts all boats in American society. Now, it is essential for those who have benefited from this progress, particularly white Americans, to join us in confronting the emerging threats to our shared democratic values.
NMAAHC provides a critical framework for understanding our journey. Its exhibits illustrate how our ancestors, the descendants of formerly enslaved Americans, fought against bondage, torture, discrimination, and injustice throughout various periods, including slavery, Reconstruction, Jim Crow, the Civil Rights Movement, Black Power, and modern movements.
The museum serves as a crucial record of our past struggles and a mirror reflecting today's challenges. It offers guidance for Black Americans and all who are committed to preserving democracy.
Amy Sherald's Portrait of Breonna Taylor
"I don’t think I thought about the viewer so much as I thought about her family when I was making this portrait . . . but when you’re speaking about violence against women and police brutality, she’s become a face for that movement." — Amy Sherald
Our creative exploration of American identity strongly influences contemporary popular culture, where we intentionally assert our rightful claim to American patriotism through symbols and meaningful content. Artists like Beyoncé, with her 2024 album Cowboy Carter, skillfully resurrect the Black roots of country music, explicitly reclaiming Black representation in that genre while purposefully using red, white, and blue imagery. Similarly, Kendrick Lamar incorporated intricate narratives of Black life alongside unmistakable American symbols in his 2025 Super Bowl halftime performance.
The work of Black Americans reflects a bold engagement with patriotism. It involves actively reclaiming our rightful place in American identity rather than simply accepting it. By incorporating patriotic symbols on prominent stages, artists create an undeniable connection to this land, despite its troubled history, that cannot be questioned or erased. These cultural moments highlight ongoing efforts to define our relationship with the nation on our terms, leaving no room for others to deny Black Americans' integral role in America's past, present, and future.
Today, the National Museum of African American History and Culture is more than just a collection of artifacts; it is a vibrant testament to resistance and resilience. As political forces seek to undermine its mission, the museum embodies the struggle it aims to document. The strategies for liberation preserved within its walls can be utilized to defend the institution, creating a powerful narrative of resistance.
The authoritarian fails to grasp that Black American history extends beyond the walls of museums. It exists in our collective memory, strategic organizing, cultural expressions, and unapologetic assertion of American identity. By documenting these proven strategies for freedom while actively embodying them, the NMAAHC ensures that an authentic Black American narrative will continue to influence the future of America, regardless of who occupies the White House.
Derrick Hemphill covers art and culture, including Museums, and resides in Harlem, New York.
