WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Museum of African American History and Culture, popularly known as the “Blacksonian,” is facing backlash over plans to remove the historic Woolworth’s lunch counter sit-in exhibit. The exhibit captures the pivotal moment in civil rights history when four Black students from North Carolina A&T fought against racial segregation on February 1, 1960.
North Carolina Representative Alma Adams criticized the removal, stating, “This president is a master of distraction and is destroying what it took 250 years to build. This is yet another distraction in his quest for attention and another failure of his first 100 days.” The exhibit showcases the original lunch counter where the students were denied service, sparking a wave of sit-ins across the Southern U.S.
Adams emphasized, “We are long past the time when you can erase history—anyone’s history. You can take down exhibits, close buildings, take down websites, ban books, and try to change history, but we are long past that point. We will never forget!”
In addition to the exhibit’s removal, Black Press USA has obtained a letter from Reverend Dr. Amos Brown, a noted civil rights leader and pastor of Third Baptist Church in San Francisco, indicating that the museum is returning a Bible and George W. Williams’s “History of the Negro Race in America, 1618-1880.” This book is significant as one of the early texts about racism in America, and these artifacts have been showcased since the museum’s inauguration in September 2016.
Dr. Brown commented on the return of these artifacts, saying, “Those two books and the summary of my civil rights activism and my picture right there next to Medgar Evers, John Lewis, and Fred Shuttlesworth in the desegregation of civil rights exhibit… that book inspired me before there were even African studies published.”
While significant voices in civil rights see their history being returned, Daniel Halligan, a known attorney, is reportedly working with Vice President JD Vance to reframe how history is portrayed in Smithsonian properties. Halligan expressed her view on history saying, “I would say that improper ideology would be weaponizing history. We don’t need to overemphasize the negative to teach people that certain aspects of our nation’s history may have been bad.”
This comment raises concerns about the potential sanitization of historical events that are fundamental to understanding the struggle and contributions of African Americans. With only a minority of young people feeling connected to their community, this initiative to change how history is presented may further alienate those seeking to engage with their heritage.
As organizers and activists rally to protect the integrity of African American history, the narrative surrounding the artifacts and their removal reflects a broader cultural struggle over how history is taught and remembered in the United States.
