By Meadow Dibble
At a time when those committed to truth and justice are gripped by what Martin Luther King, Jr. described as the “fierce urgency of now,” it may feel like researching, studying, and discussing history are luxuries we can’t afford. Like we can’t turn our eyes away from the crisis unfolding before us. Like even taking time to understand how we got here is time taken unjustly away from direct action. But this is a false choice. The moment we’re living in requires that we attend with unflinching commitment to both then and now.
Writing to Smithsonian director Lonnie G. Bunch III, Assistants to the President Vince Haley and Russell Vought recently stated:
“We wish to be assured that none of the leadership of the Smithsonian museums is confused about the fact that the United States has been among the greatest forces for good in the history of the world.”
Claiming their aim is to protect a “positive” national story, these reactionary agents are working to remove entire chapters from our shared history, and they’re doing it in our name.
“The American people will have no patience for any museum that is diffident about America’s founding or otherwise uncomfortable conveying a positive view of American history, one which is justifiably proud of our country’s accomplishments and record.”
What say We the People?
Authoritarian movements rely on historical amnesia and indifference. Efforts to strip complexity and pain from our collective narratives are not just about whitewashing the past—they are about reshaping the future, and denying the present-day context of long-standing injustices. That’s why attention to history is not a distraction from urgent political action. On the contrary: it is one of the most powerful tools of resistance available to us.
And it is one we must use unapologetically.
Exactly. Our history of enslaving human beings as chattel, of genocide and theft against Indigenous, and interference in other nations, sadly inevitably leads to bring that violence home against our own citizens (and those aspiring to be). By understanding the past we can better understand the present, and hope to bend our history away from evils towards the “arc of justice.”