Judy Woodruff interviews Lonnie Bunch, the first Black secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, inside a museum gallery in this 2019 PBS NewsHour segment. Photo: PBS NewsHour
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August 10, 2026
When Lonnie Bunch became the Smithsonian's first Black leader, he called the institution as much about the future as the past. Now, amid a 2026 White House report attacking its leadership, students explore how museums shape America's story.
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Editor's note: This segment aired July 18, 2019, and the majority of the lesson focuses on this past story when Dr. Lonnie Bunch III became head of the Smithsonian. However, we decided to create a Daily News Lesson now, given a 2026 White House report that criticized Smithsonian leadership as being too radical. The rest of the lesson focuses on what the Smithsonian brings to Americans wanting to know about the country's past and Lonnie Bunch's new position as its head.
See Bunch's response:
"In a memo addressed to staffers sent Tuesday [July 7], the secretary of the Smithsonian, Lonnie G. Bunch III, defended the institution after the White House issued a 162-page report that characterizes the National Museum of American History as a place which has become 'subject to institutional capture by a radical, activist ideology that is fundamentally opposed to telling the noble, honest story of the great country we know and love.'
In his email, which NPR has obtained, Bunch wrote in part: 'While there will always be room for improvement, this report is not a fair characterization of the work and totality of the National Museum of American History. At the Smithsonian, our work is driven by scholarship, accuracy and an uncompromising commitment to tell the fullness of America's story. As public servants and the keepers of this institution, we are charged with helping a nation find understanding, hope and clarity and as part of that duty, we are dedicated to excellence, reflection and growth.'"
(From 2019) Lonnie Bunch, founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, has just become the 14th head of the Smithsonian Institution -- and its first black leader. He sits down with Judy Woodruff to discuss the challenges facing the world’s largest museum and research complex and why the Smithsonian is as much about today and tomorrow as it is about the past.
NOTE: If you are short on time, watch the video and complete this See, Think, Wonder activity: What did you notice? What did the story make you think about? What would you want to learn more about?
Explore the Smithsonian homepage and its various collections. Look at their ‘What interests you?’ section for more specific pages. Students should explore one in further detail and then discuss a key topic or article they viewed. Some guiding questions can be:
As pointed out in the Editor's note above, there's been a lot of attention on the Smithsonian recently, with the federal government investigating the President's claims that the museums present a radical view of American history. The Smithsonian's response has been to emphasize the wide range of perspectives that make up American history. Read more below:
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Republished with permission from PBS News Hour Classroom.
