More on the Literal Whitewashing of Our History
By 
I believe that “talking about Black people” is the definition of DEI, right?
For decades, the Amistad Research Center in New Orleans has served as one of America’s largest repositories of artifacts on Black history, from 15 million rare documents dating back to the 1780s to a fine art collection that includes works by Jacob Lawrence.
But the center has been reeling since the Trump administration terminated four of its grants, leading it to lay off half its staff and cut its hours.
“These archives allow us to finally get Black stories incorporated into the canon of American history,” said Brad Lichtenstein, a documentary filmmaker who has used Amistad’s collections for his work. “So much of Black history was not collected in traditional, sanctioned ways because of white supremacy, and these spaces allow us to finally do that catch-up work.”
Libraries, archives and museums like the Amistad Research Center across the country have been scrambling to replace federal funding cuts this year. The rollbacks have been particularly hard on institutions focused on Black history, said Vedet Coleman-Robinson, president of the Association of African American Museums.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services, for example, has also canceled contracts with the Whitney Plantation, a museum in Louisiana that offers tours focused on the experiences of enslaved people. The Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice in Durham, North Carolina, lost a $330,800 multiyear federal grant. After losing its federal grants,the Evansville African American Museum in Indiana began charging for some of its programs to keep its door open.
“A lot of these museums were already struggling because usually it’s the places with the bigger names that get the money they need,” Coleman-Robinson said. “So now if you’re in a state that doesn’t necessarily support African American history and culture, all you have left is grassroots fundraising.”
This almost gives credence to the old anarchist saw that you can’t trust the state and we have to do all these things ourselves. Which of course sounds good until you try to do that and it proves nearly impossible.
I’d also like to quote the Apocalypse Now line of “Someday, this war will be over.” Except that it’s America and race, so that’s not true. It will never end.