A historian and museum professional is accusing the Smithsonian of drifting away from its educational purpose and embracing activism after visiting the National Museum of American History for the first time in more than 10 years. His criticism comes as the Trump administration and conservative voices intensify scrutiny of how the museum tells the story of the United States.
“It’s a completely different place than when I was there in 2012,” Dr. Jody Edward Ginn told Fox News Digital.
“Its mission is clearly exactly what they changed it to be. It is a museum for activism. They use history, but that’s kind of the problem. You know, scholars of history, and I don’t consider these folks scholars anymore. They’re activists.”
Ginn said he decided to travel from Texas to Washington, D.C., to assess the museum firsthand after reading a Domestic Policy Council report from the administration that accused the Smithsonian and the National Museum of American History of failing to present the nation’s past “in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic.”
“From the moment I walked in, it’s a very different experience,” Ginn said. “Now, I wasn’t totally shocked by this because I’ve been watching this evolution in my field for over a decade.”
As he toured the exhibits, Ginn said he came away believing the museum was not simply offering historical context, but attempting to “specifically direct” visitors “to action” instead of giving them the information needed to “make their own decisions.”
“It became this goal, their own stated goal, to turn museums from institutions of education, of public education, into institutions to encourage activism, which could also be said to indoctrinate.”
Ginn also said he identified “factually incorrect information” in certain National Museum of American History exhibits, while arguing that the omissions were just as significant as the material presented to visitors.
“The biggest problem is in what they leave out,” he said.
Ginn argued the museum’s “graphic” and sexually explicit exhibits have no place in a museum frequented by children and families, saying they’re “out of sync with what museums were just a few years ago.”
“These are geared towards all ages,” he said. “Why would you do that? All of that’s out of sync with what museums were just a few years ago.”
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In a House hearing last month, lawmakers raised similar concerns during a House hearing, pressing Smithsonian National Museum of American History Director Anthea Hartig about the museum’s exhibits.
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., asked Hartig about the exhibit titled “Illegal to Be You: Gay History Beyond Stonewall,” which featured a bondage harness, saying “You have pictures of bondage, you have some overtly sexual things up there, you have transgender folks.”
Lawmakers also questioned Hartig about the 2017 MASS Action Toolkit, a guide for museum professionals that references the 2014 Ferguson, Missouri, police shooting and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests while describing “objectivity” as a characteristic of “white supremacy culture,” which Ginn said was part of its effort to lean towards activism.
Reflecting on the testimony, Ginn said it was “very disappointing” and did not represent “a scholarly presentation whatsoever.”
“If that’s the kind of museum you’ve been approved to run, then just own it,” he said. “Don’t say you’re being unbiased when it’s really evident.”
Ginn also criticized Hartig for maintaining that the museum has not taken a side, adding its revised mission statement “changed the purpose of that museum.”
During a 2024 presentation to undergraduate and graduate history students, Hartig explained the museum removed the mention of “American history” from its mission statement because it was “hard to get out of the ‘America First’ mentality.”
For Ginn, his visit confirmed what he described as a “massive shift” in the museum profession, with the Smithsonian serving as “the highest-profile symptom of a process that’s been going on for some time.”
“It is my opinion as a public historian that the mission we’ve always had is to educate the public and provide scholarly information,” he said. “To me, that’s what the National Museum of American History should be.”
However, Ginn said he is “not hopeful” the institution can change without a “massive effort” to replace current staff with people he believes would prioritize history over politics.
“You’re going to have to put in new people who are committed to scholarly standards and non-politicized educational programming,” he said. “These people have bought into it, hook, line and sinker.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the Smithsonian for comment.
