"President Donald Trump launched the assault early in his second administration by signing executive orders prohibiting the supposed promotion of gender identity; diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI); and "unpatriotic" views of American history, assumed to mean teaching about the forcible dislocation of Indigenous people from their traditional lands, the legacy of slavery, the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II, and anything else that might make the country look bad."
""We wish to be assured that none of the leadership of the Smithsonian museums is confused about the fact that the United States has been among the greatest forces for good in the history of the world," Domestic Policy Council director Vince Haley and White House budget director Russell Vought wrote to Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III on Dec. 19, the Washington Post reported the next day. "The American people will have no patience" for any museum that is "uncomfortable conveying a positive view of American history.""
The Trump Administration mounted a sustained assault on arts and culture in 2025, issuing executive orders that bar promotion of gender identity, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and prohibit "unpatriotic" views of American history. The policy framework targets teaching about Indigenous displacement, slavery, Japanese American internment, and other critical histories. Administration officials threatened to withhold funding from major cultural institutions, including the Smithsonian, unless celebratory narratives aligned with presidential expectations for the 250th anniversary. Federal grantmaking shifted, with the National Endowment for the Arts canceling a Challenge America grant and changing guidelines and deadlines. Artists, organizations, and advocates faced immediate impacts and organized resistance.
Read at Oregon ArtsWatch * Arts & Culture News
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