By confronting the harsh realities and injustices that have shaped us, we can learn valuable lessons and work together to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated in the future.

James E. Causey, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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I have a message for President Donald Trump, his administration and anyone who hopes the world will forget what happened in this country.

Slavery in the United States was a brutal and dehumanizing institution that inflicted enduring harm on the enslaved individuals and their descendants. The repercussions are undeniable and continue to shape lives and communities to this day.

This is the truth Trump wants to whitewash with his administration’s review of Smithsonian museums under the auspices of “restoring truth and sanity.” So much for lowering prices, ending the Russian war against Ukraine or releasing the Epstein files.

The review will start with the National Museum of American History, National Museum of Natural History, National Museum of African American History and Culture, National Museum of the American Indian, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian American Art Museum, National Portrait Gallery, and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.

In a letter sent Aug. 12, the Trump administration said its goal is not to interfere with the Smithsonian’s day-to-day operations, but rather “to support a broader vision of excellence that highlights historically accurate, uplifting, and inclusive portrayals of America’s heritage.”

On Aug. 19, Trump showed what he is really up to. In a social media post, he complained that the Smithsonian is out of control: “Everything discussed is how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was, and how unaccomplished the downtrodden have been ‒ Nothing about Success, nothing about Brightness, nothing about the Future.”

Trump went to say he was not going to allow this to happen. “This Country cannot be WOKE, because WOKE IS BROKE,” he posted. “We have the ‘HOTTEST’ Country in the World, and we want people to talk about it, including in our Museums.”

On Aug. 21, the White House released a list of Smithsonian items it finds objectionable, including a pride flag, an exhibit that features content from “hardcore woke activist Ibram X. Kendi” and a portrait featuring Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and former chief medical adviser to President Trump.

Trump has shown a unique propensity for distorting reality

Call me silly, but I don’t believe Trump knows more about museum artifacts than the people who do the actual research and put the displays together.

When it comes to the authenticity of the exhibits and artifacts, I support the dedicated Smithsonian researchers and curators. I believe that their commitment to preserving historical accuracy stands in stark contrast to the Trump administration’s tendency to distort reality – in this case, about the enslavement, abuse and murders of millions of Black bodies.

In the chattel slavery system, also called the Atlantic slave trade, the enslaved were beaten with whips, and children were stolen and sold away like pieces of meat. Women, children and sometimes even men were raped by their slave owners as a form of control, and Black Americans were denied opportunities for wealth accumulation during slavery’s reign from 1619 to 1865.

Even worse, Black people were regarded not as human beings but as property, given as gifts and discarded violently.

Is this the “wokeness” the Trump administration wants to erase?

This county needs to confront its uncomfortable truths

The Aug. 12 letter explains that members of the Trump administration will conduct walkthroughs within 30 days. Then, within 75 days, the administration will carry out “voluntary” interviews with curators and senior staff. Finally, within 120 days, museums will start replacing divisive or ideologically driven language with what it calls “unifying, historically accurate, and constructive descriptions” on placards.

Wisconsin historian Reggie Jackson said the move will only fool those who want to be fooled. He said slavery is a chapter of American history that remains shrouded in misunderstanding because many Americans consciously choose to turn a blind eye to its realities.

Holding tight to the comforting narrative of the “American dream,” many run the risk of confronting uncomfortable truths. The adherence to a sanitized history obscures the rich tapestry of experiences and struggles that have shaped this nation, Jackson said.

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While the Smithsonian has stated that it will comply with the Trump administration’s requests, I hope its leaders do not succumb to pressure to sanitize or compromise the truth in the process. Robert Smith, a professor of history at Marquette University, said doing so would diminish everything that made us who we are today.

“This goes beyond slavery,” Smith said.

Altering history undermines the achievements of individuals and raises the question of how to decide what to preserve and what to change. Historians who archive history take their responsibilities seriously, applying the highest levels of rigor to ensure accuracy, he said.

Regardless of how the administration wishes to abolish “wokeness,” the fabric of our nation’s history remains touched by the bloodshed from Black and Brown bodies that has yet to be made whole to this day.

We must not shy away from the complexities of our past; instead, we should embrace both its triumphs and its tragedies. By confronting the harsh realities and injustices that have shaped us, we can learn valuable lessons and work together to ensure that the mistakes of the past are not repeated in the future.

“You have to ask, what makes people so afraid of the truth?” Jackson said.

You can’t fix the harsh realities of what was done by rewriting history.

We cannot heal what we don’t want to confront or even acknowledge that happened.

James E. Causey is an Ideas Lab reporter at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, where this column originally appeared. Reach him at jcausey@jrn.com or follow him on X: @jecausey

Source: https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2025/08/27/trump-smithsonian-museum-review-slavery-black-history/85834211007/