Smithsonian Wall Texts Archived
A volunteer group has begun systematically archiving wall text from Smithsonian museum exhibits, spurred by concerns about possible future revisions or removals. The project, described as "citizen historians at work," aims to preserve the museum's interpretive record for scholars and the public.
The volunteer group, called Citizen Historians for the Smithsonian, was co-founded by Georgetown University history professors James A. Millward and Chandra Manning, along with technologist Jessica Dickinson Goodman. The project was directly inspired by a similar initiative called Save Our Signs, which documents signs at National Parks. The catalyst for the archiving project was a letter from the Trump administration to the Smithsonian in August 2025, announcing a review of exhibits. The review's stated goal was to "celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions." Within weeks of its launch, the Citizen Historians project amassed over 750 volunteers who took more than 50,000 photographs and videos, archiving a significant portion of the Smithsonian's exhibits. The "Crowd to Cloud" effort aims to make this documentation publicly accessible to serve as a resource for journalists and historians. The White House review specifically targeted several exhibits for promoting what it termed a "divisive, race-centered ideology." These included a display linking Benjamin Franklin's achievements to his ownership of enslaved people and an exhibition on Latino history that the administration claimed pushed an "anti-American agenda." Prior to the full review, the Smithsonian had already altered an exhibit that referenced Donald Trump's two impeachments, though the information was later partially restored with changes. The administration also flagged exhibits at the National Portrait Gallery and the National Museum of African Art for their focus on topics like racist immigration laws and the murder of George Floyd. In response to the administration's review and a threat to withhold federal funding, Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III confirmed in an internal email that the institution had begun providing the White House with requested documents, including digital photographs of wall texts.
