On Tuesday, House Republicans on the Oversight Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency sharply questioned Anthea Hartig, Director of the National Museum of American History (NMAH). Lawmakers scrutinized whether the taxpayer-funded institution has distorted the history of America’s past.
Subcommittee Chairman Tim Burchett (R–Tenn.) contrasted the museum’s approach with the story of America as “the birth and growth of a great nation, founded on powerful ideals, in which we aim to fully achieve.” Instead, he argued, the museum presents American history principally as an “ongoing power struggle between oppressors and the oppressed.”
Five Republican committee members questioned Hartig during the hearing. The most interesting exchange came from Rep. Brandon Gill (R–TX), who zeroed in on the museum’s embrace of critical theory materials.
Gill pressed Hartig on whether the museum considers “objectivity” to be a main goal of preserving history. After she answered in the affirmative, Gill responded, saying the museum’s MASS action toolkit cites “objectivity” as a tool of white supremacy. Considering all of this, Gill took a stab at the inconsistency, “Do you think it’s the goal of the Smithsonian to promote white supremacy culture?”
Gill went on to ask a seemingly obvious question, “Is Mickey Mouse racist?” Hartig replied that the cartoon character is indeed rooted in “minstrelsy,” which in turn is rooted in blackface and therefore carries “obvious racial undertones.” At the end of his questioning, Gill noted “politeness” is considered part of white supremacy culture according to the museum MASS action toolkit.
The hearing followed a 162-page White House Domestic Policy Council report published on July 4 titled Saving America’s Story. The report accused the museum of elevating political activism above an accurate retelling of American history, and of straying from its founding mission: “to instill in each citizen a deepened faith in our country’s destiny as champion of individual dignity and enterprise” and “to instill in each foreign visitor admiration and respect for our ever-expanding social and technological horizons.”
Director Hartig, who has led the NMAH since 2019, frames American history as a “prime tool of social justice,” aimed to connect “research and scholarship to activism and advocacy.” She also stated she works “to reframe the traditional celebratory narrative of U.S. history for visitors,” according to the White House report. The report characterized those statements as words of “an activist advancing an ideological agenda contradictory to the Museum’s founding purpose of fostering patriotism.”
On the semiquincentennial of America’s founding, what proves most disappointing about the NMAH is not just what it chooses to display but what it chooses to omit. During the America 250 celebration, one might reasonably expect to see exhibits honoring the early history of America. Yet there are no such exhibits, as the White House report states, “a visitor to the Museum today will find no major exhibit dedicated to America’s Founding era, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, other Founding Fathers, the Continental Congress, etc.”
Later in the hearing, Rep. Nancy Mace (R–SC) questioned Hartig over the museum’s Girlhood (It’s Complicated) exhibit, asking why taxpayer dollars funded sexually explicit displays to children walking past public galleries. The exhibit specifically contained photos of transgender women and bondage attire, along with many other things clearly inappropriate for a public museum.
What was Hartig’s defense? Why, a disclaimer sign was placed outside the door, of course.
The hearing laid bare the clear fact that Hartig, the leader of the institution entrusted to preserve our heritage, cares little for historical objectivity or celebrating our country. The question moving forward is larger than museum exhibits and wording on toolkits, but who gets to tell the story of America’s history to future generations.
