I’M KAREN HOLMES WARD BLACK CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS ARE UNDER ASSAULT. FEDERAL GRANTS CANCELED FOR FAILING TO SERVE THE INTEREST OF THE UNITED STATES. THE WHITE HOUSE CLAIMS EXHIBITS AT THE SMITHSONIAN PRESENT. QUOTE, DIVISIVE NARRATIVES AND RACE CENTERED IDEOLOGY. ABC’S CHRISTIANE CORDERO WITH WHAT IT MEANS FOR THE NATION’S MUSEUMS. TODAY, AMERICA’S MUSEUMS ARE ON NOTICE. PRESIDENT TRUMP SAYS HE HAS DIRECTED HIS ATTORNEYS TO REVIEW AND GET RID OF EXHIBITS THAT HE DISAGREES WITH, SPECIFICALLY CALLING OUT THE SMITHSONIAN MUSEUM AND CLAIMING IT IS OUT OF CONTROL, WHERE EVERYTHING DISCUSSED IS HOW HORRIBLE OUR COUNTRY IS, HOW BAD SLAVERY WAS, AND HOW UNACCOMPLISHED THE DOWNTRODDEN HAVE BEEN. WE WANT THE MUSEUMS TO TALK ABOUT THE HISTORY OF OUR COUNTRY IN A FAIR MANNER, NOT IN A WOKE MANNER OR IN A RACIST MANNER. REPORTER THIS LATEST MOVE FOLLOWS AN EXECUTIVE ORDER THE PRESIDENT SIGNED IN MARCH THAT DIRECTED THE SMITHSONIAN, TO, QUOTE, CELEBRATE AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM AND REMOVE DIVISIVE OR PARTIZAN NARRATIVES. THE PRESIDENT’S LATEST COMPLAINTS ABOUT EXHIBITS ON SLAVERY COME AS THE ADMINISTRATION TRIES TO OVERHAUL HOW AMERICAN HISTORY IS TAUGHT BY CRITICIZING OR EVEN THREATENING TO WITHHOLD FUNDING FROM SCHOOLS THAT OFFER CURRICULA LIKE THE IMPACTS OF SLAVERY. BUT DURING HIS FIRST TERM, TRUMP VISITED THE MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE, A SMITHSONIAN IN WASHINGTON, D.C., THAT REFLECTS ON SLAVERY AND CELEBRATES AFRICAN AMERICAN ACCOMPLISHMENTS. WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THE MUSEUM, MR. PRESIDENT? HONESTLY IT’S FANTASTIC. IN 2017, HE CALLED THE MUSEUM TRULY GREAT AND DONE WITH LOVE. THIS TOUR WAS A MEANINGFUL REMINDER OF WHY WE HAVE TO FIGHT BIGOTRY, INTOLERANCE, AND HATRED IN ALL OF ITS VERY UGLY FORMS. AND CRISTIANO REPORTS IT’S UNCLEAR WHETHER TRUMP HAS THE AUTHORITY TO TELL ANY MUSEUM WHAT TO PUT ON DISPLAY. THE AMERICAN ALLIANCE OF MUSEUMS SAYS NO PRESIDENT HAS SUCH POWER, WARNING TRUMP’S ORDER REPRESENTS A GROWING THREAT OF CENSORSHIP AGAINST AMERICAN MUSEUMS. JOINING ME NOW IS DOCTOR NOEL TRENT, THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY. BOSTON AND NANTUCKET. AND ROBERT WILKINS, A FEDERAL JUDGE SERVING IN THE U.S. COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT. AND HE’S ALSO AUTHOR OF LONG ROAD TO HARD TRUTH, WHICH FOCUSED ON THE EFFORTS TO BUILD THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE ON THE NATIONAL MALL IN WASHINGTON, D.C. WELCOME TO YOU BOTH. ROBERT, AS YOU OUTLINE IN YOUR BOOK, IT TOOK 100 YEARS TO CREATE A MUSEUM DEDICATED TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY. WHY DID IT TAKE SO LONG? IT TOOK SO LONG BECAUSE THERE WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE WHO DID NOT BELIEVE THAT SUCH A MUSEUM WAS NECESSARY OR APPROPRIATE. IN 1916, WHEN THEY BEGAN THESE EFFORTS TO CREATE THIS MUSEUM, THE MOVIE BIRTH OF A NATION WAS TAKING THE COUNTRY BY STORM, AND IT ARGUED THAT BLACKS WERE APPROPRIATELY POSITIONED AND HAPPY AS SLAVES, THAT THE CIVIL WAR WAS A WAR OF NORTHERN AGGRESSION, THAT THE KU KLUX KLAN WERE HEROES, AND THAT BLACKS SHOULDN’T VOTE BECAUSE THEY WERE INCOMPETENT. AND AND SO THE FORCES THAT WANTED TO CREATE A MUSEUM DEDICATED TO AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE AND, AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS HAD TO FIGHT AGAINST THAT MENTALITY AND THAT SORT OF MENTALITY PERVADED FOR DECADES NOW IN AN EXECUTIVE ORDER ISSUED THIS PAST MARCH, PRESIDENT TRUMP WRITES, QUOTE, THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION HAS IN RECENT YEARS COME UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF A DIVISIVE, RACE CENTERED IDEOLOGY. THIS SHIFT HAS PROMOTED NARRATIVES THAT PORTRAY AMERICAN AND WESTERN VALUES AS INHERENTLY HARMFUL AND OPPRESSIVE, UNQUOTE. ROBERT, WHAT WAS THE MUSEUM’S ORIGINAL INTENT, AND WAS IT ACHIEVED? WELL, THE MUSEUM’S MOTTO FROM THE SMITHSONIAN WAS TO TELL A PEOPLE’S STORY. BUT IT’S REALLY THE NATION’S JOURNEY. AND AND SO THROUGH AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY, YOU KNOW, WE SEE A LOT OF THE DEBATES OVER THE. CONSTITUTION AND THE BILL OF RIGHTS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF OF THE LAWS AND THE LEGAL SYSTEM TO REALLY MAKE AMERICA, AMERICA. YOU KNOW, THERE WERE A LOT OF PROMISES MADE ABOUT EQUALITY AND DUE PROCESS AND JUSTICE, BUT THAT THOSE PROMISES WEREN’T ALWAYS KEPT AND THEY CERTAINLY WEREN’T KEPT FOR AFRICAN AMERICANS, THIS MUSEUM HELPS TELL THAT STORY AND SHOWS HOW AMERICA REALLY CAME TO LIVE UP TO ITS PROMISES. LET ME TURN TO DOCTOR TRENT HERE IN THE STUDIO. SINCE THE PRESIDENT’S RETURN TO OFFICE, HE’S BEEN VOICING HIS VIEW THAT ELEVATING BLACK CULTURE IS RACIST. HAVE YOU SEEN A CHANGE IN IN ATTENDANCE AT YOUR MUSEUM? WE ACTUALLY HAVE. AND QUITE INTERESTINGLY, WE HAVE SEEN AN INCREASE IN VISITORS. PEOPLE ARE VERY CURIOUS ABOUT THIS HISTORY. WE HAVE BEEN VERY VOCAL ABOUT HOW WE HAVE BEEN AFFECTED BY THE TERMINATION OF OUR GRANT FROM THE INSTITUTE OF MUSEUM AND LIBRARY SERVICES. WE HAVE HAD THAT TEMPORARILY REINSTATED BECAUSE OF AN INJUNCTION IN A FEDERAL COURT IN RHODE ISLAND. BUT WE HAVE SEEN AN UPTICK IN VISITATION. AND I THINK PEOPLE ARE CURIOUS AS TO WHY IS THIS HISTORY SO POLARIZING. AND FOR MANY PEOPLE, THEY ACTUALLY DIDN’T KNOW THAT WE EXISTED AND THAT WE WERE IN HISTORICALLY, HISTORICALLY BLACK COMMUNITIES HERE IN BOSTON. MOST PEOPLE DON’T KNOW THAT THE NORTH SIDE OF BEACON HILL WAS HISTORICALLY BLACK, ABOUT 150 YEARS AGO. AND SO I THINK THAT HAS MOTIVATED PEOPLE TO ENGAGE WITH US IN A MORE MEANINGFUL WAY. HAS THE CONTROVERSY HELPED YOUR FUNDRAISING? YES, YES IT HAS. BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TELL PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, WHAT REALLY AND TRULY IS AT STAKE. OUR MUSEUM’S ORIGINS ARE RELATED TO THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. WE ARE PART OF MANY MUSEUMS WHO ARE FORMED IN COMMUNITIES AS PART OF A GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT TO ENSURE THAT THEIR COMMUNITY’S BLACK HISTORY IS PRESERVED. AND SO PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT’S AT RISK IS THAT THIS HISTORY COULD DISAPPEAR, AND IT WOULD NOT ONLY AFFECT THE NATION’S UNDERSTANDING OF OUR STORY, IT WILL AFFECT THE CITY OF BOSTON AND NANTUCKET, ROBERT. WHY ARE INSTITUTIONS DEDICATED TO PRESERVING, CONSERVING, AND INTERPRETING THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS NEEDED AND ALSO SO SIGNIFICANT THAT THEY ARE NEEDED BECAUSE AFRICAN AMERICANS HAVE CONTRIBUTED A LOT TO THIS COUNTRY, AND THAT SHOULD BE RECOGNIZED. I MEAN, I THINK THAT THAT’S JUST A BASIC, FUNDAMENTAL POINT, AND THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS THAT MOTIVATED CREATING THIS MUSEUM. I THINK THAT IT ALSO HELPS US REALLY UNDERSTAND OUR COUNTRY AND AND HOW AND WHY WE HAVE EVOLVED AND HOW WE CAN CONTINUE TO EVOLVE IN AND BECOME BETTER. AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE CAN’T JUST SWEEP EVERYTHING UNDER THE RUG THAT WE THINK WE DON’T LIKE, OR THAT MIGHT MAKE AMERICA SEEM TO LOOK BAD. THE OTHER WAY OF LOOKING AT IT IS THAT AMERICA OVERCAME IN AND THAT’S A POSITIVE THING. NOEL. WHILE THE ADMINISTRATION’S LATEST TARGET IS THE SMITHSONIAN, MUSEUMS SUCH AS YOURS HAVE BEEN TARGETED AND IN FACT, THIS PAST SPRING, YOU LOST OR THREATENED TO LOSE $500,000. TELL US MORE ABOUT THE DISPOSITION OF THAT CUT. SO WHAT HAPPENED WAS US AND MANY OTHER MUSEUMS ACROSS THE COUNTRY RECEIVED A EMAIL MID-APRIL THAT OUR IMLS GRANT FUNDING WAS TERMINATED. AND THE LANGUAGE THAT THEY USED IN THE LETTER WAS THAT OUR MUSEUM NO LONGER SERVES THE INTEREST OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE IMLS PROGRAM, WHICH I RESPECTFULLY DISAGREE WITH. WE BEGAN TO WORK WITH A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE TO BRING RECOGNITION TO THIS ISSUE. THIS WAS SIGNIFICANT. IT WAS GOING TO AFFECT OUR CAPACITY BUILDING IN BOTH COMMUNITIES AND FOR OUR WAYS TO ENHANCE OUR STORYTELLING. IN MAY, WE FOUND OUT THAT THE STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, ALONG WITH OTHER AGS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, FILED A CASE AGAINST THE WHITE HOUSE AND A JUDGE, FEDERAL JUDGE IN RHODE ISLAND PUT A TEMPORARY INJUNCTION IN PLACE AS A RESULT OF THAT. THAT GRANT MONEY HAS BEEN RELEASED BACK TO US. HOWEVER, WE HAVE BEEN INFORMED AT ANY POINT AS THIS CASE MOVES THROUGH ITS PROCESS, WE COULD LOSE THOSE FUNDS BEFORE THE END OF THE GRANT CYCLE. SO YOU’RE IN LIMBO. WE’RE IN LIMBO. IT’S A VERY AMBIGUOUS STATE NOW. VERY FEW PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO GO ON THE RECORD TO PUBLICLY TALK ABOUT THIS ISSUE. WHY ARE YOU SPEAKING OUT? I’M SPEAKING OUT BECAUSE I THINK WE HAVE, AS AN INDEPENDENT NONPROFIT, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO KEEP PEOPLE AWARE OF WHAT’S GOING ON. WE ARE IN A STATE THAT SUPPORTS US AND UNDERSTANDS THE IMPORTANCE OF REFLECTING THE STORIES AND EXPERIENCES OF ALL PEOPLE, AND I THINK IT’S IMPORTANT FOR PEOPLE TO KNOW HOW WE’RE BEING AFFECTED. I DON’T WANT THIS INSTITUTION TO DISAPPEAR, AND PEOPLE WONDER, YOU KNOW, WHY DIDN’T WE SAY ANYTHING AND THINK THAT WE ENJOYED IT? WE ARE NOT ENJOYING THIS. WE ARE FIGHTING VERY HARD. WE, MY TEAM AND I GET UP EVERY DAY AND MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE DOING OUR BEST TO ENSURE THAT THIS INSTITUTION REMAINS HERE. WE HAVE BEEN IN BOSTON, FORMALLY INCORPORATED FOR OVER 50 YEARS, ORGANIZED FOR OVER 60 YEARS, AND WE INTEND TO STAY HERE. AND WE CAN ONLY DO THAT WITH THE SUPPORT OF OUR COMMUNITY. THANK YOU. ROBERT. WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION BEHIND THE TITLE OF THE BOOK, LONG ROAD TO HARD TRUTH? I PARAPHRASED JAMES BALDWIN, WHO IN 1968, AT A CONGRESSIONAL HEARING, ADVOCATED FOR THE CREATION OF A MUSEUM LIKE THIS, AND HE SAID, MY HISTORY CONTAINS THE TRUTH ABOUT AMERICA. IT’S GOING TO BE HARD TO TEACH IT. I MEAN, HE RECOGNIZED THAT THERE WAS PAIN THERE, BUT HE ALSO RECOGNIZED THAT IT WAS NECESSARY TO LOOK AT THAT PAIN, TO MOVE FORWARD. DOCTOR NOELLE TRENT AND THE HONORABLE ROBERT WILKINS, THANK YOU BOTH FOR JOINING US. NOW FOR MORE ABOUT THE HISTORY BEHIND THE CREATION OF THE NATIONAL MUSEUM OF AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY AND CULTURE. MAKE SURE YOU CHECK O

CityLine: American cultural institutions under scrutiny

Funding cuts impact national and local African-American organizations.

Updated: 12:01 PM EDT Sep 14, 2025

Editorial Standards ⓘ

This week on CityLine, Black cultural institutions have found themselves in the crosshairs of President Trump and the administration. While The White House is scrutinizing the Smithsonian for “race-center ideology” and divisive narratives, the federal government has canceled grants and left many organizations in limbo. The Hon. Robert Wilkins, federal judge and author of the “Long Road to Hard Truth,” a book about the efforts to build the National Museum of African American History & Culture on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and Dr. Noelle Trent, the President & CEO of the Museum of African American History | Boston & Nantucket discuss the importance of these institutions.

NEEDHAM, Mass. —

This week on CityLine, Black cultural institutions have found themselves in the crosshairs of President Trump and the administration. While The White House is scrutinizing the Smithsonian for “race-center ideology” and divisive narratives, the federal government has canceled grants and left many organizations in limbo. The Hon. Robert Wilkins, federal judge and author of the “Long Road to Hard Truth,” a book about the efforts to build the National Museum of African American History & Culture on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., and Dr. Noelle Trent, the President & CEO of the Museum of African American History | Boston & Nantucket discuss the importance of these institutions.