As the government shutdown lingers, the impacts of the budget impasse continue to grow, with hundreds of thousands of federal workers missing paychecks and agencies closing and unstaffed. Now, the nation’s most prominent museum of Black history has shut its doors while the government shutdown continues.
African American history museum closes doors until shutdown ends
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture posted on social media this weekend, “Due to the government shutdown, we are temporarily closed beginning on Sunday, Oct. 12. We will update our operating status as soon as the situation is resolved. We do not plan to update social media other than to inform you of changes to our operating status.”
The announcement also directed patrons to continue to use the organization’s online resources.
“While our doors are closed, Smithsonian digital resources continue to be available on our website.”
Other Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo also announced their closures while the shutdown continues.
Growing pains as shutdown continues
The temporary closure of the Smithsonian’s African American history museum comes as the government shutdown that began on Oct. 1 is poised to stretch into a third week, with few signs that it will end soon. The Senate is out of session on Monday for Columbus Day, also celebrated as Indigenous Peoples’ Day in some parts of the United States. The chamber is expected to hold another vote on a Republican-backed bill to end the shutdown. Still, there are no indications that the measure will gain the five additional Democratic votes necessary to pass. Meanwhile, the House remains in recess, a move Republican Speaker Mike Johnson claims is unrelated to a desire to delay the seating of a newly elected Democratic congresswoman. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump has followed through on his threat to begin laying off federal workers during the shutdown; he has also suggested that furloughed workers may not receive back pay once the shutdown ends.
Smithsonian, other federal sites targeted under Trump
The decision to close the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture represents the latest challenge to the institution and the Smithsonian system under Trump. The museum, which formally opened in 2016, has been a target of Trump since his return to the White House, with the president claiming that the museum has “come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.” Under Trump’s current term, the Smithsonian museums and other federal institutions have come under federal scrutiny and censorship, essentially whitewashing American history. This campaign by Trump has extended to national parks and other federal institutions, where numerous exhibits have been removed or deleted.
The Trump administration has targeted the Smithsonian and other institutions as part of its efforts to roll back diversity efforts and censor history. Now, the Smithsonian museum dedicated to the history of Black Americans is closed altogether during the government shutdown.