Head of DC’s African American museum on leave as Trump targets Smithsonian

Kevin Young, the director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington DC, is not currently in charge of the museum and has been on leave since 14 March, as Donald Trump targets the Smithsonian museum network for its content.

The Washington Post first reported that Young has been on a personal leave for an “undetermined period”, according to an email obtained by the newspaper from Kevin Gover, the Smithsonian under secretary for museums and culture. Shanita Brackett, NMAAHC’s associate director of operations, is now serving as interim director.

The Post’s report is the first time that news of Young’s leave has been made public, though there is no apparent connection between his absence and the president’s executive order. The NMAAHC did not reply to a request for comment about Young’s leave.

Besides NMAAHC, several other museums under the Smithsonian network have undergone leadership changes in recent years. Stephanie Stebich, the director of the American Art Museum, was removed last year after ongoing staff complaints, the Post reported. Elizabeth C Babcock was only recently appointed as the director of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum in May.

Young, an acclaimed poet and essayist, has been director of the NMAAHC since 2021. Prior to his appointment, he served as the director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture at the New York Public Library.

Young’s leave came two weeks before Trump issued an executive order calling for the elimination of what he described as “improper, divisive or anti-American ideology” within the Smithsonian.

“Once widely respected as a symbol of American excellence and a global icon of cultural achievement, the Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology,” read the order.

The order singled out NMAAHC for allegedly “[proclaiming] that ‘hard work’, ‘individualism’, and ‘the nuclear family’ are aspects of ‘White culture’”.

In response to Trump’s order, Lonnie Bunch, the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, said the museum will “remain committed to telling the multi-faceted stories of this country’s extraordinary heritage”, in an email shared with staff, the Museums Association reported.

Bunch added: “We will continue to employ our internal review processes which keep us accountable to the public. When we err, we adjust, pivot, and learn as needed. As always, our work will be shaped by the best scholarship, free of partisanship, to help the American public better understand our nation’s history, challenges, and triumphs.”