Kweisi Mfume used the Anthea Hartig Smithsonian congressional hearing Tuesday to say Black Americans are outraged by efforts to do away with the African American museum and the Smithsonian. He told the House Oversight subcommittee hearing, "If you erase it, we will replace it."
House Oversight subcommittee hearing Tuesday
The hearing focused on how the Smithsonian Institution presents scholarship on U.S. history. Mfume said he was speaking as a Black man who grew up in segregation, was not allowed to go certain places and drank from a water fountain that said colored.
He said his mother and father were unable to do anything other than basic day work. Later, he added, "We will not let you destroy that museum. No matter how long it takes, how many battles are required, how much effort is needed, we will not allow that to happen," and, "Unless you find a way to kill all of us and walk over our bodies to change history."
Republican-led committee on history
The Republican-led committee said the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History is promoting a narrow, politically tendentious agenda. It said the museum should instill in visitors an appreciation for America's unique history as a beacon of liberty, democracy, and opportunity.
Mfume answered with a different account of what history requires. He said, "history taught us and still teaches us that we can't keep making the same mistakes."
Trump administration and museums
The hearing also came as the Trump administration has sought to clamp down on how American history is framed in public spaces. During Trump's second term, exhibits were removed from national parks on slavery and violence against Native Americans.
The dispute now centers on how far that effort reaches inside the Smithsonian and the African American museum, and what specific exhibits or scholarship are being targeted by the challenge.
