Civil rights leader says artifacts have been removed from Smithsonian’s Museum of African American History – WUSA9

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WASHINGTON — The Smithsonian Institution has begun quietly removing some artifacts from the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC), according to two museum employees and at least one high-profile donor.
Rev. Dr. Amos Brown, a longtime civil rights activist and pastor, tells WUSA9 he was notified via this month that several artifacts he donated — including a Bible he carried during civil rights demonstrations — were being returned to him.
He email he shared with WUSA9 from the NMAAHC says:
“Dear Reverend Brown,
I wanted to alert you that the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) will be returning your Bible and book we borrowed for our exhibition, Segregation. Both books have been on display at the NMAAHC since we opened our doors to the public in September 2016. We are grateful for the loan of these important objects and the ability to share them with the public. In order to preserve them and not display them for too long, we are now returning them to you.”
Brown said he doesn’t believe it’s about the conditions of the books and says a museum should know how to preserve them.
“The flimsy excuse was because they were under too much light,” Brown said in an interview.
Brown said he never requested the return of his items, which includes a bible and a historic copy of “The History of the Negro Race in America,” one of the first books to document racism in the United States.
“I had called them and told them how unfortunate and ideological it is,” he added.
Brown has been a civil rights activist for more than 70 years, marching alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the Rev. Jesse Jackson. The Bible and book, he said, have been on display at the museum since it opened in 2016.
When WUSA9 visited the museum Saturday, the artifacts were no longer in their previous exhibit space.
“It was right here to the left of the narrative,” Brown said, pointing to the empty display.
He also expressed concern that the iconic lunch counter from the sit in movement started by four students at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina. The lunch counter is one of the key features of the museum — Amos says there are discussions on removing that. WUSA9 has not independently verified that claim. During our visit, the lunch counter remained on display.
Visitors we spoke with say the news is both emotional and troubling.
“I feel like that’s crazy,” said Samiyyah Greene, who traveled from North Carolina. “That’s like taking a big part of our culture away.”
“It’s very frustrating,” said Wynter Barton-Brown of Boston. “I’m glad I had my glasses on because I didn’t want my children to see the emotion that was driven up.”
In March, President Donald Trump signed an executive order calling for the removal of “improper, divisive or anti-American ideology” from federally funded institutions, specifically naming the African American museum.
“That was the most unfortunate directive,” Brown said. “It’s about someone being against diversity, inclusion and equity for African Americans and all people who’ve been marginalized in this country.”
WUSA9 has reached out to the Smithsonian Institution and the National Museum of African American History and Culture for comment but has not received a response.
Brown says the lack of communication from the museum leaves him worried for its future.
“We aren’t going to let anyone tell us what we can’t read and celebrate as our artifacts,” he said.
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