LightNews LightNews
drheatherbester.bsky.social
@drheatherbester.bsky.social
13 followers 33 following 0 posts
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted
clintsmithiii.bsky.social
What does it mean for something to be “improper” if the administration’s understanding of what is acceptable excludes anything that might make white Americans feel bad?

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
In his march 27 executive order, President Trump directed Vice President J. D. Vance to “remove improper ideology” from NMAAHC and other Smithsonian museums. As I walked around the museum, I wondered which of these exhibits would fall under that rubric. What does it mean for something to be improper if the administration’s understanding of what is acceptable excludes anything that might make white Americans feel bad? Is the statue of Thomas Jefferson surrounded by bricks inscribed with the names of people he enslaved improper? Is a slave cabin that once sat on the grounds of a plantation in South Carolina improper? Are the shackles that were once locked around the feet of enslaved children improper? Is Harriet Tubman’s silk shawl improper? Is Nat Turner’s Bible improper? Is Emmett Till’s casket improper? Are the photographs of men and women who were lynched as white audiences looked on improper?
April 21, 2025 at 1:35 PM