1. United States
2. Va.
3. Letter

I write to you today not merely with concern—but with outrage, fear, and a profound sense of betrayal over former President Trump’s assault on exhibits at the Smithsonian, deeming certain displays “objectionable.” This isn’t about protecting decency. It’s about censorship—not of pornographic or obscene material, but of history. Of lived experiences. Of truth. We find ourselves on a slippery slope. When any one leader dictates which stories are “acceptable” in our institutions—when voices of the marginalized, the oppressed, and the forgotten are silenced to preserve a sanitized narrative—democracy is at risk. And it’s not hyperbole to say this echoes the darkest chapters of history. A recent opinion piece in the San Francisco Chronicle draws a chilling parallel between Trump’s campaign to purge “divisive” Smithsonian exhibits and the Nazi regime’s 1937 degenerate art exhibition in Munich—where modernist artworks were condemned, stripped from museums, labeled “un-German,” and paraded in derision to reinforce Hitler’s cultural agenda (San Francisco Chronicle). In both cases, the message is the same: only one version of history—and one aesthetic, one ideology—is permitted. Trump presents himself as patriotic, “protecting” America’s image. But this is twisted patriotism: a whitewashed, selective history that ignores genocide, slavery, land theft, and the enduring legacy of racial and religious oppression. To “silence bad history” is to erase the foundation from which any genuine national redemption must arise. We cannot allow this. You must speak out. Denounce this authoritarian overreach, stand firm against the whitewashing of our collective memory, and defend the curatorial independence that our national museums—and the promises of democracy—depend upon. We need more than empty rhetoric. We need you to act. Demand transparency. Oppose censorship. Defend the diversity of voices that built this nation—even the parts that are ugly. Have the backbone to tell Trump: enough is enough. Our future depends on preserving the full, unvarnished story of America—not hiding from it. Marginalized communities deserve to see their stories told. Americans deserve the truth. Please stand on the right side of history.