In a twist that only the labyrinth of modern politics could concoct, the Smithsonian, hallowed ground of American history, finds itself in a bit of a pickle. Apparently, there’s a new sheriff in town, and he’s got some thoughts on what Uncle Sam’s favorite museum should display. This mystery curator seems to have come straight from the realm of the Make America Great Again fan base, which is why some folks are quick to latch onto their pearls in disbelief.
Imagine a world where historical facts are put on a shelf and dusted off only if they align nicely with certain ideologies. It’s a bit like a game of historical dodgeball, where only the “approved” narratives can come out to play. The uproar these days isn’t about whether unpleasant facts should be discussed, but rather who gets to decide which facts are shared. It’s not just about lessons on slavery, though that’s a front-runner in the lineup of contentious topics. If school curriculums are any indication, historical storytelling is as much about what gets left out as what gets put in.
Speaking of omissions, there’s a common cry heard from the crowd saying that, historically speaking, slavery wasn’t a creation of America nor something solely curated by white folks. Slavery, as distasteful as it is, has been around like a bad family heirloom, handed down through generations all over the globe. Ironically, even the word “slave” derives from the word “Slav,” owing to the historical enslavement of Slavic peoples. It’s the unpleasant truth that slavery has been a multicultural, equal-opportunity oppressor.
Despite historical evidence, a swath of folks would rather file this under “Race-Specific Problem,” assigning it exclusively to the realm of American history and its Caucasian counterparts. But, as the saying goes, history doesn’t care about modern sensibilities. The facts, however uncomfortable, tell us that enslaving groups happened wherever you had a group strong enough to do the enslaving and a group weak enough to be enslaved. This wasn’t a single race’s game; it was a grim team sport.
While some might think that updating museum exhibits to reflect a broader, less biased scope of history could amount to a scandal of Titanic proportions, others see it as a fairness revolution. Perhaps, in a bid to foster a more complete picture of the human journey, it’s worth broadening the narrative. It’s a lesson in understanding that our shared past is as messy as it is crucial to learn from, and it certainly isn’t a blueprint anyone should want to repeat.
