Category: What’s happening now?

What’s happening now? Tracking the political actions affecting cultural institutions | May 30, 2025

“When people start targeting the telling of history, that becomes very dangerous for democracy.”

The above quote is from my GWU colleague Melani McAlister, speaking to the Washington Post about President Trump’s recent decision to fire all the members of the Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation––a committee of nine historicans who oversee the Foreign Relations of the United States (the FRUS) publication series to ensure that U.S. foreign policy decisions are accurately and appropriately documented.

Unfortunately, the telling of history is being targeted in lots of ways now. One of the defining features of the early months of this adminstration is how much energy is being put into constraining the institutions that support history, culture, and education. On May 20, Doug Bergum, Secretary of the Interior released a directive that all properties within the Department of the Interior’s jurisdiction, including parks, monuments, and museums, must identify whether they “contain images, descriptions, depictions, messages, narratives or other information (content) that inappropriately disparages Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times).” The public is also be encouraged to report “any signs or other information that are negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes and other natural features.” Truth-telling is no longer the goal.

In another dangerous moment for democracy, the Texas 5th Circuit ruled on May 23 that public library patrons have no right to receive information under the First Amendment. Meanwhile, new social studies standards in Oklahoma would introduce students to disproven theories about “discrepancies” in the 2020 presidential election. The case is currently before the district court, although it’s not looking good for those challenging the new standards.

Over in Australia, there has been controversy around the Queensland Literary Awards after a $15,000 fellowship was rescinded from Indigenous writer K A Ren Wyld over social media comments about the conflict in Gaza. The decision was made by Queensland Minister for Education and the Arts John-Paul Langbroek, who said the government had “taken the decision that this award should not be presented at the State Library.” Several of the panel judges for the award resigned after the decision and a group of First Nations storytellers wrote a powerful open letter in solidarity with Ren Wyld. Wyld’s manuscript documents seven generations of stolen First Nations children in response to the Bringing Them Home report. As the First Nations storytellers write, “There is a great irony to this accusation being deployed against a Stolen Generations descendant as part of an attempt to strip them of resources to tell the true history of the colony’s violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.”

Despite the pressure to conform to narrow versions of history, historians and others are using their power and expertise to challenge the Trump administration. This week, for instance, Professor Martha S Jones, J.D., PhD and Professor Kate Masur, PhD filed a brief against the birthright citizenship executive order to provide historical perspective in the birthright citizenship case and show how free Black American activists fought for birthright citizenship. Another history that is just about to be rewritten to tell a more complete story is that of the 15 daguerreotypes of enslaved people that Harvard University agreed to relinquish after settling with Tamara Lanier, a descendent of two of the people in the images, who sued the school in 2019. As Lanier told Hyperallergic, “The time is always right to do the right thing.” The photographs will be going to the International African American museum in South Carolina.

If you’re following the actions affecting the Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS), Kelly Jensen has written up a thorough timeline. Jensen is hoping to build a more collaborative timeline of events and is seeking contributions from those including affected institutions. Add to her publicly-editable document: A Timeline of IMLS Cuts, Lawsuits, Impact to Libraries, and More.

The Council of Past Presidents of the National Council on Public History recently undertook a special fundraising effort to cover the costs of NCPH memberships for colleagues who are suffering financial insecurity due to recent actions of the federal government, raising enough for 100 memberships. You can self-report your need using this form.

Are you a librarian attending the Philadelphia for ALA Annual? Arrive a day early and learn to Organize Your Library! Join other library workers to develop skills, build solidarity, and learn more about organizing and collective bargaining.

Finally, my heart cracked last week as news broke about the fatal shooting of two Israeli Embassy staffers outside the Capital Jewish Museum in Washington, D.C.––an institution where many of my students work and intern and where several staff are alumni of the GW Museum Studies program. The tragic event occurred one day after it was announced that the museum had received a $30,000 grant to pay for additional security in light of a growing climate of antisemitism and in recognition that the most recently opened exhibition, LGBTJews in the Federal City, might bring additional attention to the museum. That exhibition is co-curated (with Sarah Leavitt) by my brilliant former student, Jonathan Edelman and “is the first of its kind to explore DC history, Jewish history, and LGBTQ+ history together, drawing from the Museum’s robust LGBTQ+ archive.” The museum has just reopened, so if you’re in the DC area, now might be a nice moment to visit.

A LAST MINUTE ADDITION… According to a post on TruthSocial, Trump has fired Kim Sajet, director of Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, for being “a strong supporter of DEI.” Sajet was named director in 2013. As noted in the Washington Post, “It is unclear if the president has authority to dismiss Sajet. The Smithsonian’s programming is not under the purview of the executive branch, and personnel decisions for senior-level Smithsonian museum positions are made by Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III.” More to come.

What’s Happening Now? is my attempt to make sense of some of the political actions affecting cultural institutions right now. If you’ve got resources to share or something to add, please reach out or leave a note in the comments. I look forward to connecting with you.

What’s happening now? Tracking the political actions affecting cultural institutions | May 14, 2025

Over the last several months, the attacks on cultural institutions have been relentless. I’ve been tracking political actions affecting museums and other linked institutions on a public document for a few weeks, but that action feels too little for the scale of assault on our institutions so I’m going to dust off the ol’ blog to try to connect the dots about what’s been happening. My focus will be on the actions in the US, but not exclusively so. Political actions affect cultural institutions everywhere and can bleed over from one context to another. I’m still feeling out how regularly I’m going to post and the kind and scale of update I’ll be sharing, but I’m inspired by Liz Neeley’s great missives figuring out what to focus on now & next in science and higher ed.

On Thursday, May 8, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden was fired with a two-line email, stating that her position was terminated effective immediately. The first woman and the first African American to hold the position, Hayden was confirmed in September 2016 by President Barack Obama and had one year left on her term. On Saturday, May 10, the Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter received notification that her position was also terminated. Permutter lead the U.S. Copyright Office (a position appointed by the Librarian of Congress). The day before she was notified of her dismissal, the Copyright Office issued part three of a pre-publication report on AI that included questions about the use of copyrighted materials in the training of AI systems––notably of interest to Elon Musk. By Monday, May 12, it was announced that Todd Blanche, the lawyer who represented President Trump during his 2024 criminal trial had been appointed acting Librarian of Congress, although LOC staff members pushed back on the change, reportedly preventing two officials that Blanche had appointed to senior roles from accessing the agency’s headquarters. Now Congressional Democrats have requested an investigation into “the possible unauthorized transfer of congressional or Library data to executive branch agencies and personnel.” (H/t @ChrisGeidner, who has his own piece on the events online) Meanwhile, Rolling Stone has a piece out featuring an unnamed “expert” on the LOC, who raised questions about Trump’s access to the LOC’s Congressional Research Service (CRS), which “provides confidential advice to Congress, including confidential legal advice, and there is a database that has all the questions that every member has asked for the last 50 years and the answers.” That sounds like the kind of data that needs to be protected.

It’s not just personnel under attack at the LOC. On May 12, Ryan Cordell shared on Bluesky that the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP) has been shut down.

Some sad confirmation from @bcgl.bsky.social while I was at UW last week—the National Digital Newspaper Program—which builds Chronicling America—has been shut down Historical newspapers are probably the archival material most used by the general public—for genealogy, local history—it’s such a loss

[image or embed]— Ryan Cordell (@ryancordell.org) May 12, 2025 at 10:28 AM

NDNP was a partnership between the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the Library of Congress (LC), and it just one of many, many important projects at risk. Tribal libraries are also feeling the pressure from cuts. On May 11, NBC reported that the Institute of Museums and Library Services (IMLS) had notified “more than a hundred libraries on federally recognized tribal lands across the country that… their congressionally appropriated grant had been terminated midcycle.” It’s not an exaggeration to note that the implications of these cuts will be significant.

There is some good news, however. Yesterday, Rhode Island district court judge John J. McConnell Jr. issued a preliminary injunction to halt the elimination of IMLS and two other federal agencies in a case brought by 21 states’ attorneys general, writing that “the States have demonstrated irreparable and continuing harm from the Defendants’ de facto dismantling of IMLS, MBDA, and FMCS.” Publishers Weekly have a helpful write up.

Alondra Nelson’s public resignation from the National Science Foundation and Library of Congress should be required reading for anyone thinking about how they can use the power they have in this moment:

Exit (leaving) and voice (speaking up) need not be mutually exclusive strategies. My resignations are both, an exit that amplifies the voice of others. By departing these advisory roles, I aim to speak more clearly in my own language about what they have become and what they ought to be. This is not an abandonment of loyalty to these institutions’ missions, but rather, its highest expression.

Taking a different approach, the Authors Guild and a group of scholars and writers announced that they have “filed a class action lawsuit (PDF) against the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), its leadership, and officials within the Department of Government Efficiency (“DOGE”) for unlawfully terminating millions of dollars in committed grants from funds appropriated by Congress for the programs.” Meanwhile, if your institution has been affected by NEH cuts, the Association for Computers and the Humanities, have been offering advice on supporting and advocating for the NEH, including creating a website measuring the impact of the NEH Grants 2025.

Long-time museum advocates Gretchen Jennings and Rose Paquet have just launched a new substack called Museums Act Together to be a hub for information and support. They plan to “[share] information about museums and other cultural institutions that are being defunded, censored, or otherwise pressured to shift from presenting authentic and well researched content” and “[publish] accounts from museums that wish to share (publicly or anonymously) their challenges and responses.” Their first post has a ton of links and resources.

Finally, I leave you with words from Kaitlyn Greenidge’s recent piece, Why We Need the National Endowment for the Arts:

We are in a cultural moment where critical thinking has become synonymous with cynicism. Our government and larger media have spent decades telling us that the anxiety and desperation and deep loneliness that characterize most of American life doesn’t ultimately matter when the economy is doing great. The instinct, in the face of so much of American life denying reality, is to fall into the reflex of calling things out, of meeting every gesture of expression with a sneer. But that is not how anything is repaired. To resolve, to move forward, to understand in any way, means at a certain point you have to declare what it is that you actually care about, what you actually want to fight for.

I know what I’m fighting for.

Is there something that you think that should be included in future posts? Get in touch.