The Smithsonian Institution, particularly the National Museum of American History (NMAH ) and related exhibits, has been accused of downplaying or negatively reframing aspects of American history in favor of a more critical, race- and social-justice-focused narrative.
Now, the great-grandson of a slave, bishop and author Earl Walker Jackson, is blasting the institution for its anti-American woke indoctrination against ‘the greatest country on earth.”
The White House shared a 162-page report from the Domestic Policy Council, “Saving America’s Story,” that accuses the NMAH of “ideological capture” by a “radical, activist ideology.”
Further, it claims the museum erases or minimizes America’s heritage, downplays the Founders and positive milestones, emphasizes social justice themes, and treats the American story as a tool for division rather than shared national pride. The report was released on the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
In March 2025, President Trump issued the Executive Order “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” and ordered steps to counter what the administration described as a widespread effort to rewrite U.S. history by casting founding principles and achievements in a negative light (as inherently racist, sexist, or oppressive).
It specifically called out the Smithsonian for promoting “divisive, race-centered ideology.”
Fox News reports that, “although his great-grandparents were enslaved, Jackson believes that ‘if you were born an American, you hit the proverbial lottery because you have more opportunity and hope than any people living anywhere else on the planet.’”
“It makes me angry when people do this to our country, but it’s sad too because what it tells me is that the indoctrination machine is hard at work convincing people [of] this narrative,” he said.
“This is a wonderful country; it’s the greatest nation on earth.
And you’ve got people so indoctrinated into seeing our country sliced and diced into race and ethnicity and class and income and so forth that they fail to understand the blessing of the United States of America.”
NMAH’s shift toward wokeness and activism has been a hot topic in DC. During a House Oversight hearing, Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) grilled NMAH’s Director, Dr. Anthea Hartig, over the institution’s anti-white agenda and efforts to rewrite American history.
Dr. Jody Edward Ginn, a historian and museum professional, spoke with Fox News after making his first visit in a decade and was troubled, noting he found it to be “a completely different place than when I was there in 2012.”
Ginn also noted that he found “factually incorrect information” and, in some exhibits, what the institution left out was just as misleading.
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