On March 27, President Trump signed “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” a directive mandating that the Smithsonian Institution and the Department of the Interior, which oversees national monuments, memorials and statues, rectify “divisive narratives that distort our shared history.” This is just one of several actions aimed at changing how arts and humanities organizations tell the story of the country’s past and present. For instance, the majority of staff at the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Endowment for the Humanities has been put on leave or terminated, and Trump installed himself as the Kennedy Center’s chair of the board of trustees and announced plans to shake up the prominent arts organization.
This reframing of the nation’s history has been welcomed by Trump’s supporters but has prompted concern from organizations like the American Historical Association and high-profile artist cancellations at the Kennedy Center. Given the outcry, UC Berkeley Newsasked experts from various campus departments to reflect on why politicians might have a vested interest in influencing such cultural institutions and what the impact of these changes might be.