Erasing History: Trump, the Museums, and the Crusade Against African American Memory

Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has issued a series of executive orders with global impacts, including the dismantling of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). On March 27, the U.S. government presented an executive order that promises to “restore truth and reason to the history of the United States” (Swissinfo). According to Trump, there is a “concerted and widespread effort” to distort facts and promote a narrative that presents the country’s “foundational principles” in a “negative light” (Infobae).

The order directly targets the Smithsonian Institution, the country’s most emblematic museum complex. Trump accuses the institution of promoting a “divisive and race-centered ideology” and demands a ban on funding exhibitions that “divide Americans by race”. The clearest target is the National Museum of African American History and Culture, inaugurated in 2016, but other exhibitions focused on diversity in cultural institutions have also been canceled (El Espectador).

Behind this seemingly neutral discourse about “unity” and “shared values” lies a dangerous logic: the denial of structural racism and the role of African descendant communities in the building of the United States. The message is clear: if African American history makes people uncomfortable, it must be silenced. If it reveals the foundational violence of the country, it must be dismantled. If it represents resistance, it must be canceled.

This is not merely a dispute about aesthetics or academic perspective. This narrative seeks to replace living history—complex, conflict-ridden, and courageous—with a sanitized version that glorifies the founding fathers while erasing slavery, racism, Black resistance, and the struggles for freedom. It is no coincidence that Trump’s order also hints at reinstalling Confederate monuments removed after the murder of George Floyd. The goal is to rewrite history from a place of white privilege, using a language of “unity” that denies conflict and perpetuates supremacy.

Image No. 1. Paragraph from the Executive Order issued by Trump

Source: Restoring Truth and Sanity in American History, March 27, 2025.

From Latin America, this attack resonates deeply. Not only because of the historical and cultural connection between the diasporas, but also because we too face attempts to deny structural racism, relativize the struggles of our communities, or erase the uncomfortable memories of slavery, dispossession, and resistance.

What is happening in the United States is yet another symptom of a global backlash against the progress of antiracist, feminist, and decolonial movements. It is the offensive of privilege, disguised as historical neutrality. As African American historian W.E.B. Du Bois once said, “What is done to the most marginalized will be done, sooner or later, to everyone.”

Now more than ever, defending African American history is a collective responsibility. We cannot allow silence to replace memory, nor power to rewrite the past to sustain exclusion. From any place in the world—whether in the United States, Colombia, or anywhere memory is under threat—we must raise our voices to demand plural, inclusive, and truthful narratives. Preserving African memory is not just about resisting erasure; it is about insisting on justice, dignity, and the right to fully exist in history.

Image source: BBC News Mundo.