The museum promptly informed the National Park Service and the Boston Police Department, which are investigating the incident. Boston police classified it as a racially motivated act of vandalism, listing the property value at $10.
“It feels like a hate crime,” said Trent, who added that the contents were obviously related to Black history. “This was a deliberate choice.”
Individual enters Museum of African American History Wednesday morning
Mayor Michelle Wu said the incident is under investigation by the BPD’s civil rights division, adding that “hateful acts of violence will never be tolerated in Boston.”
“At a time of unrelenting attacks on Black history and Black communities, the Museum of African American History in Boston stands as a pillar of truth and conscience for our city and our country,” she said in a statement. “The City of Boston stands firmly with Dr. Trent and the entire MAAH team, and we will not be intimidated in our work to make Boston a home for everyone.”
Boston police issued a community alert late Thursday afternoon seeking the public’s assistance to identify a suspect in connection with the incident.
Officers described him as a white male, wearing a dark jacket, pants, and sneakers.
The park service confirmed it was investigating the incident, adding it will “release additional information at the appropriate time.”
Trent said the crime is striking amid the Trump administration’s hostility to Black history, particularly in the fraught run-up to the nation’s 250th anniversary celebrations. Last year, the US Institute of Museum and Library Services canceled a sizable grant to the small museum. More recently, organizations like MAAH have found themselves at ideological odds with the Trump administration, which has sought to present a triumphal historical narrative for the 250th that sidesteps some of the country’s more troubling passages, such as slavery.
“We’re continuing to see a push that invalidates or attempts to invalidate African American history,” said Trent. “We keep fighting this fight, we keep doing this work, but it’s a lot for an institution to bear.”
Video from a doorbell camera near the museum shows a figure in a black jacket disappearing into the museum’s courtyard.
Trent added that while she didn’t “know the intentions of the actor,” it wouldn’t be the first time the museum has been the subject of a racist attack. In 2018, vandals defaced the group’s African Meeting House on Nantucket, spray-painting a racial slur, the word “leave,” and a crudely rendered phallus on the building.
“It was big, it was graphic, it was disgusting,” said Trent. “This was more subtle, but nonetheless equally significant. It wasn’t public so that anyone could see it, but the implications of lighting something on fire near a historic building creates a visceral reaction.”
Trent added that the Beacon Hill fire, while small, should be viewed against a broader historical context of arsonists targeting Black churches.
“Churches have historically been destroyed whenever African American or Black communities stand up in any way to resist social oppression to make a bold statement of who they are,” said Trent, who added that the Beacon Hill Meeting House is the oldest existing Black church building in the country. “It means something when someone burns something near the building.”
Trent expressed relief that the vandal damaged only the items in the Amazon package.
“We were very fortunate this time, it wasn’t a windy night,” she said. “For historic buildings, all it takes is a small ember and a good gust of wind to start something that can be completely devastating to a community.”
This story has been updated to include comments from Mayor Michelle Wu.
Correction: Because of incorrect information supplied to the Globe, this story briefly included a photo of a person of interest in an unrelated vandalism case.
Malcolm Gay can be reached at malcolm.gay@globe.com.
