‘Restoring Truth and Sanity’ or Creating a Fictional History? Donald Trump’s Erasure of the Black American Past
By Ian Ziegler
‘Restoring truth and sanity to American history.’ That was the title of President Donald Trump’s late-March executive order. On the surface, truth and sanity seem like worthy ideals for museums like the Smithsonian in D.C., but the ‘truth’ Trump promotes amounts to cultural erasure. His administration has begun stripping away elements of history that clash with their preferred narrative.
Attributed to McPherson & Oliver, The Scourged Back, April 1863, Albumen silver print from glass negative, 8.7 x 5.5 cm.
Image Courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
One of the most striking examples came when the National Portrait Gallery, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and the National Gallery of Art were pressured to remove the iconic photograph of Peter, a former enslaved man from Louisiana, known as The Scourged Back. Taken in 1863, the image depicts Peter with his back deeply scarred by whippings, a shocking depiction that confronted viewers with the brutality of slavery. The removal of such an image, central to the Abolitionist Movement, signals a disturbing effort to suppress uncomfortable truths within American history.
This censorship extends well beyond the Smithsonian and D.C. In recent months, the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park in West Virginia was ordered to take down material about abolitionist John Brown’s revolt. Similarly, In Philadelphia, information acknowledging George Washington’s status as a slaveholder was quietly removed. Such interventions are not mere oversight; they constitute government overreach, forcing institutions to conform to a narrow, fictional vision of the past.
Anna Money-Maker, President Donald Trump Signs Executive Orders in Oval Office, January 20, 2025.
Image Courtesy of Getty images.
Trump himself has made the ideological aim clear. On social media, he declared: ‘This country cannot be WOKE, because WOKE IS BROKE. We have the HOTTEST country in the world, and we want people to talk about it, including in our museums.’ This rhetoric reveals the administration’s priorities: not fostering inclusive and difficult conversations but replacing them with glamourised myths of national greatness. The goal is not education but image management, as if America is trying to become the next Top Model.
Rewriting history in this way undermines the very mission of museums. These institutions exist to preserve and present the complexities of the past, not to serve as propaganda outlets. By purging narratives of slavery, resistance, inequality, and struggle, the administration erases the contributions and experiences of millions. It signals that only a selective, triumphalist story of America is permissible.
The consequences of such policies reach beyond museum walls. They strike at the foundations of freedom of expression and artistic independence. When the government dictates which histories are told and which are silenced, it imposes a dangerously authoritarian model of cultural life. Trump has already threatened museums with the same punitive measures he has directed at universities, including funding cuts and lawsuits. The chilling effect on curators, educators, and artists will only grow.
America cannot become the ‘hottest’ nation by whitewashing its past. True strength lies in grappling with difficult histories, acknowledging both pain and progress, and creating space for meaningful dialogue. The Trump administration’s censorship of museums represents a betrayal of democratic values and a narrowing of the American imagination. Far from restoring truth and sanity, it risks leaving us with a hollow version of history—one in which the scars of the past, like those on Peter’s back, are deliberately hidden from view.
Bibliography
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Ewing, Giselle. “White House announces Smithsonian review amid Trump’s cultural reckoning. Politico, August 12, 2025. https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/12/smithsonian-museums-trump-review-00505838
Greenberger, Alex. “Trump Orders National Park to Remove Famed Photograph of Formerly Enslaved Man.” ART news, September 15, 2025. https://www.artnews.com/art-news/news/trump-orders-national-park-remove-scourged-back-photograph-1234751971/
Kanno-Youngs, Zolan. “Trump Says Smithsonian Focuses Too Much on ‘How Bad Slavery Was.’” The New York Times, August 19, 2025. https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/19/us/politics/trump-smithsonian-slavery.html
Natason, Hannah & Spring, Jake. “National Park to Remove Photo of Enslaved Man’s Scars.” The Washington Post, September 15, 2025. https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2025/09/15/national-parks-slavery-information-removal/.
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