Interpreting Slavery in the Trump Era 2.0

For what it’s worth, I submit this to my colleagues in hope that it offers some ideas on how to cope in this devastating and scary time. I do not have all the answers and this is not a panacea … its part of the ongoing conversation on how to maintain the integrity of the work we love so much.

February 12, 2024 – I finished the original version of this prior to the inauguration. I let it sit for a few days, and then came all the new Executive Orders that created uncertainty in the field. After catching my breath and getting a tiny bit of perspective, I’m posting my original thoughts, with an amendment at the end that addresses the shifting landscape.

The morning of Wednesday, November 6, 2024, was difficult for many people in the United States, and for those of us in the historical truth “business” (I.e., museums and historic sites) we braced for another difficult four years. And because we know that history doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes, we fortified ourselves knowing that what comes next promised to be a magnified version of Donald Trump’s first term in office.

While coming to grips with the election results, I, like other independent museum professionals across the country, went into overdrive to figure out how to help our clients and the rest of the field navigate the expected choppy waters ahead.^[1] As I primarily work with sites that have a history of enslavement, I immediately flashed on a blog that our colleague Andrea Jones posted in January 2017. During the late fall of 2016, she interviewed several practitioners in the field of interpreting slavery/civil rights – including me – and offered guidance to the field about what to consider as the first Trump administration dawned. In December 2024, I reached out to Andrea and asked if she planned to write a 2.0 version of the blog post. She said she hadn’t planned to, so I jumped into the fray.

We have evidence from his first term about what to expect this time around. We can’t pretend to be “blindsided” anymore – we know better. We must be prepared. Now more than ever, hyperbole intended, we, public historians, need to support each other and our allies in our respective communities to continue to uncover and share important narratives about the history and legacies of enslavement in the United States.

Why does it feel so hard to do what’s right?

In her original post, Jones asked, “Will telling stories that dig deeply into racial issues be seen as increasingly ‘radical?’”^[3] Unfortunately, in today’s political environment caring about everyone’s stories and believing Black people’s truths about racism can be considered “radical” or dismissed as unimportant or lies.  Any history that threatens one’s sense of self or is contrary to what one knows as “truth,” can be threatening to the ego. Therefore, our jobs can get difficult when a vocal minority labels our compassionate, truthful interpretation as “dangerous.”

We’re telling true stories that acknowledge the full humanity and past systemic silencing of many Americans’ experiences – stories that people need to hear. Writer and civil rights advocate James Baldwin knew that our history shapes our identities. He knew that new narratives are often perceived as a threat to our core existence. He said, “The great force of history comes from the fact that we carry it within us, are unconsciously controlled by it … history is literally present in all that we do. It could scarcely be otherwise, since it is to history that we owe our frames of reference, our identities.”^[4]

New information offers an opportunity for learning. The process of integrating new narratives into existing knowledge is inherently lengthy, and does not always produce immediate, visible results. As learners assimilate new information, piece by piece, they gradually build up a new historical narrative, which may continue to conflict with the original narrative until the latter can be modified or discarded. Strategies for helping learners integrate new narratives include:

• Embracing the learning process,
• Using narrative storytelling to highlight stories of agency within the framework of traditional “American” themes like freedom, family, resistance, and prosperity,
• Creating opportunities for visitors to reflect and process the new narratives – both internally and aloud – via contemplative moments, dialogue, or feedback boards, and
• Reinforcing the new narratives with repetition, including multiple perspectives and variations on the theme.[5]

Remember, Small Vocal Groups Don’t Represent the Majority

In the Wilkening Consulting/AAM 2024 Annual Survey of Museums, 53% of frequent museum-goers expressed a positive attitude towards inclusive interpretation, while 58% of the general population want museums to share inclusive content and attitudes.^[6] If this is what the data tells us, then why the perceived push-back?  Wilkening attributes this to the “false consensus effect,” when a “small group of people projects the idea that their values and attitudes are shared by the majority of people. Typically, in our modern discourse, it is used to shut down conversations that a small segment doesn’t want to have or to stop a behavior of which they don’t approve.”^[7]

These nay-sayers (read: predominately white, cis-gendered, hetero, Christian men who feel disaffected and disenfranchised) are deeply triggered by truthful histories that may evoke feelings of fear, shame, or guilt, and they often respond with defensive, highly emotional behavior.^[8] Some of them are deliberately encouraging the false consensus effect because they think it will silence public historians.^[9] When this vocal minority chips away at the public history field’s collective fortitude because we believe they’re speaking for the majority, it can erode the field’s professional integrity and museums/historic sites avoid talking about a topic or narrow their interpretation. This can have devastating consequences on the public history field. Changing what we do because of a frightened and reactive vocal minority means that bias, hatred, and ignorance win.

Consider the sites that have been getting push-back from right-wing think tanks and media outlets in recent years. They are museums and historic sites, founded by white people, that have traditionally lionized white, male-dominate narratives (more specifically, those long-lauded as Founding Fathers), but have shifted their interpretation to become more inclusive.^[10] The efforts to keep these long-silenced narratives untold or to re-silence them are grounded in a desire to remain comfortable with an uncomplicated vision of the United States that centers whiteness. In an email to me, Andrea Jones remarked, “[T]his is a white museum problem. Black museums have been doing this brave work forever. And often they do it with extremely limited funds. But they have been doing it. And no one is picketing on their lawns.”^[11]  She has an incredibly good point!

How can HWIs (historically white institutions) rise to meet the work of their Black colleagues? How can more HWIs assist Black museums with uplifting Black (or Asian, or Latino) voices, telling more complicated histories, and calling out historical and contemporary racism? Jones followed up her remark by posing the question, “[How] can your museum play a supportive role for a Black museum or organization? Amplify their voices, provide funding, administrative support, a space to work, research support?”^[12] Let’s set the bar high across the field and help each other meet it. 

Okay, but how do we do it, especially with fears about funding and doxxing as Christian nationalists become emboldened?

While I know that it’s easier to write and read the advice than to bring all the parties together to implement it on the ground, I want you to know that I, too, will be navigating these questions with my clients over the next four years. I hope to keep the dialogue open so that we can learn from each other and share ideas.

Below, I offer suggestions for starting and continuing conversations about intentionally cultivating brave spaces for interpreting chattel slavery. You can also apply these to sites that interpret other histories perceived as threatening or challenging to the prevailing white-dominate heroic narrative (E.g., Indigenous history, LGBTQIA+ stories, Japanese incarceration, etc.). Many of these ideas come from my books and are noted as such. Other concepts have been gathered from the brilliant minds of our colleagues, to which I have given credit.

1. KNOW THYSELF, YOUR POLITICIANS, AND YOUR COMMUNITY. Each museum/historic site has its unique challenges – different governing structures, stories, communities, etc. Every institution needs to do a self-assessment to determine where their strengths and vulnerabilities lie around interpreting the history and legacies of enslavement.^[13]

If you are a local, state, or federal institution, you are subject to different circumstances than independent non-profits. One comment from a politician or political appointee can upset the interpretation-applecart. Just look at examples from Texas or Alabama.^[14] Whether you’re a government institution or not, what’s your relationship with local, state, federal officials in your area? How do you keep them informed about what you’re doing and why? How do you find common-cause on mission, vision, and values, not to mention terminology and how it’s applied at your institution?

Who are the partners and stakeholders in your community who will speak up for your good work? If you don’t know them yet, FIND AND CULTIVATE THEM. Sites that cater almost exclusively to tourists might get left high and dry if their local community is not engaged in the organization’s mission. Helping your community find relevance in your site and its stories will build goodwill and feelings of ownership that will pay off if the false consensus effect raises its head.

2. MISSION, VISION, VALUES … AND COMMUNICATION. It’s essential for an institution to have their strategic documents in place and be sure that everyone in the institution is privy to them. A lack of communication about institutional mission, vision, and values can leave visitor-facing staff and volunteers (those furthest away from the C-suite) feeling disenfranchised, lost, and unsupported. Make sure your board is well-versed in your interpretive plan. As Jones points out, “Sometimes more progressive folks plan for a program or exhibition that has the potential to draw controversy and they have an ‘ask forgiveness, not permission’ mentality because they fear internal censorship. But it’s exactly this kind of misalignment that can cause a blow-up. If those progressive staff members do something that a CEO or board members are just going to turn around and apologize to the press for – then the project can cause more damage than progress.”^[15]

Communication also comes into play preparing your visitor-facing and marketing/communications staff to parry false or inaccurate statements from angry people. In Susie Wilkening’s report about the false consensus effect, she encourages museums to educate themselves and plan how to move forward together.^[16] Consider these steps to improve communication:

• Gather information about how Americans perceive history or articles about how museums build and maintain trust with their communities and share them with your board, staff, and volunteers.^[17]
• Develop a lexicon and a set of non-negotiables that support your work and clearly communicate its value to staff, visitors, and your community.^[18]
• Practice scenarios to help your team prepare and feel confident in how to respond so that they don’t fall into reactive mode.
• Continually reinforce the message about why it’s important to tell everyone’s story and help visitors connect to a broader spectrum of historical narratives.
• Create a plan to support and care for your staff – both their physical and emotional safety.

3. DO YOUR WORK ON RACE AND IDENTITY. I’ve worked with several small institutions – including a local historical society with two full-time staff members in a wealthy, white Boston suburb – who have rallied their boards and communities by cultivating a culture of learning through listening sessions, ongoing research, and lots of work on exploring white privilege.

Examine the role that the presence or absence of white privilege has played in your life, your community, your institution. What does racism look like in your community – past and present? What role does colonialism play in your institution’s founding and ongoing collecting policies? We must start reconciling with the role of race and identity in our work on interpreting slavery. If you are a white person and/or a PWI, you will not be successful unless you take the time to look inward and become familiar with your own role in oppression and colonialism.

All history is personal to someone, and nothing is as personal as our identity. Our identities affect how we give and receive stories, so it’s imperative that we have that foundational knowledge about race/identity. When our brains perceive that our identity is being attacked (hearing a story we think is false or undercuts a long-held belief), our brain jumps into anxiety mode, and we start acting out of fear. (See above section on false consensus effect.)

We also allow fear and anxiety to rule us when we feel unprepared or if an institution lacks a strong leader that does not stand up for truthful interpretation. Leaders need to do their work around race/identity and help their board and staff do their work too. We need to ask each other questions like: What’s at the root of our fear? Is it real or imagined? How can we assuage our fears? We need to deal with fear so that we can have an unclouded vision of how our museums can move forward.

In a recent NYT editorial about giving into the fear mongering of the new administration, the author wrote, “America’s leaders and institutions must remain undeterred. They will need to show courage and resilience in the face of Mr. Trump’s efforts as they continue to play their unique roles in our democracy. Vigilance is everything: If institutions surrender to the fear and coercion — by bending the knee or by rationalizing that the next right actions aren’t worth the fight, stress or risk — they not only embolden future abuses; they are also complicit in undermining their own power and influence.”^[19]

Don’t undermine your power and influence as a historic site/museum, do the work and be prepared to present courage and resilience in the face of immense challenges to come.

Don’t allow your fear or anxiety to paralyze you – that’s what they want. As singer and activist Joan Baz said, “Action is the antidote to despair.” Find your people and work together to keep telling the stories.

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Post-Script: After reflecting on what I wrote and all that’s happened since, I realize that I have been paralyzed with fear. I, and my consultant-friends, have lost contracts with federal government clients or projects funded through government grants. My NPS friends are overcome with anxiety that they will be reported by their coworkers simply for doing their jobs with compassion. The field is waiting apprehensively not just for the other shoe to drop, but for the entire contents of the Macy’s shoe department to fall out of the sky and suffocate us. Colleagues in the field have started to break down the EOs and suggest strategies, so in addition to what I wrote earlier, here are a few more ideas for action.[20]

Say the words “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”!

It’s important to define and say the words “diversity, equity, and inclusion.” If someone gets angry and insists that “DEI” should be banned from your institution or workplace, ask them to define the individual words “diversity, equity, and inclusion,” not what the administration is purporting as “DEI.” Your institution can define the words for itself, or you can go with the Oxford English Dictionary definitions.

• Diversity: The quality, condition, or fact of being diverse or different; difference, dissimilarity; divergence.
• Equity: The quality of being equal or fair; fairness, impartiality; even-handed dealing.
• Inclusion: The action or an act of including something or someone.

Ask the angered party what they find objectionable about the definitions. This will reveal their inner monologue and create an opportunity for them to say the quiet part (i.e., usually racist, sexist, ableist, homophobic) aloud, which will hopefully open an opportunity for them to examine their moral compass. If they continue to spout vitriol that is contrary to your organization’s values, and you’re a private organization, you have every right to ask them to leave the institution’s property.[21]

Government-run organizations are under tighter scrutiny, as even the mere appearance of these basic human rights “under whatever name they appear” is seen as a threat to the white supremacist-Christian nationalistic society they are trying to force on the country.[22] You can resist this by including social-emotional competencies in your programming and interactions with colleagues.[23] As a work group, define what respectful engagement looks like for your work group and for your visitors. Unfortunately, hate speech is legal and has been upheld many times by the Supreme Court.[24] National Parks have dedicated “first amendment activities zones,” so it’s worth reviewing each park’s individual policy and procedure on that.[25] However, if you feel personally threatened, you should reach out to law enforcement – Park Service or local – as it’s often helpful to have someone with a badge as an intermediary.

Patriotic and Nationalist Narratives

Let’s be clear that the administration’s prioritization of “patriotic education” is a blatant attempt to promote white supremacist narratives that discount and discredit the lived experiences of people of color, as well as discourage the process of critical thinking. They are deliberately vague yet oddly focused on “noble” portrayals of history. Here are some thoughts on how to subvert their priorities while “following” their despicable directives:

• “(i) an accurate, honest, unifying, inspiring, and ennobling characterization of America’s founding and foundational principles”
  • Accurate and honest portrayals of the country’s founding and foundational principles are easy to come by, as we can elicit historical facts from primary documents. For example, Washington, Jefferson, and Madison all wrote that they knew slavery was wrong, yet they continued to do it. Hmmm, noble characters?
  • We should promote historical narratives that unify and inspire people around broad themes like freedom, resistance, love, family, community, etc. These narratives should represent all people who lived/live in the United States.
  • If the intent is to ennoble the white founders and their ideas, perhaps ennobling, defined as “to impart a higher character to (a person or thing); to dignify, elevate, refine,” should be extended to all people and actions. Let’s raise the profiles and actions of people of color who, in their own ways, founded this country.

• “(ii) a clear examination of how the United States has admirably grown closer to its noble principles throughout its history;”
  • What historian doesn’t like an opportunity to clearly examine “noble principles? I would gladly incorporate a considerable number of open-ended questions into my interpretations to ask visitors to examine how the US has grown closer to those noble principles. For example, take the preamble to the Constitution. If I worked at Manzanar or one of the other US Japanese concentration camps, I would want visitors to wrestle with the question, “How did the internment of thousands of American citizens help the US grow closer its noble principles of “establishing justice … and securing the blessings of liberty for those citizens”?”

• “(iii) the concept that commitment to America’s aspirations is beneficial and justified; and”
  • Yes, let’s make sure America’s aspiration as a place where all Americans are assured “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” is guaranteed for ALL AMERICANS.

• “(iv) the concept that celebration of America’s greatness and history is proper.”
  • The “concept” that celebrating the country’s greatness and history is “proper.” Yikes – who wrote that?! What does that even mean?!
  • Per the Oxford English Dictionary, “concept” is defined as “something conceived in the mind; a notion, idea, image, or thought,” and “proper” is defined as “suitable for a specified or implicit purpose or requirement; appropriate to the circumstances or conditions; of the requisite standard or type; apt, fitting; correct, right.” Therefore, the notion that celebrating the country’s greatness and history is suitable for a specific purpose. Okay, so whose purpose? To what ends?

I know my thoughts are all over the place and incomplete. People much smarter than I are also puzzling over this. Perhaps, my suggestions are naïve. Perhaps, I expect too much of the general public/students – our visitors – when asking them to engage in critical thinking and empathetic listening. I know there are museum folks out there who are thinking that there is no way that they could possibly implement any of this or would not feel safe talking with visitors or co-workers using some of the questions I’ve posed. I know there’s danger out there – physical safety, fear of losing one’s job, potential repercussions that might emanate from the dark web, etc. To that I respond, “If not us, then who? If not now, then when?”[26]

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[1] See “Resilience Agenda,” Michelle Moon, November 15, 2024. Arts Equity Group Power Mapping workbook.

[2] I heard this during a recent webinar. Forgive me for not crediting the source, but I can’t remember who said it.

[3] Andrea Jones, “Interpreting Slavery in the Trump Era,” January 17, 2017, https://www.peakexperiencelab.com/blog/2017/1/15/5rn1yxf1g74muws51mx3bmek0yupz7. Accessed January 3, 2025.

[4] James Baldwin, “The White Problem in America,” Ebony Magazine, 1966.

[5] See Gallas and Perry, Interpreting Slavery at Museums and Historic Sites, chapters 1 and 2.

[6] https://wilkeningconsulting.com/2024-annual-survey-of-museum-goers-inclusive-attitudes-update/

[7] https://wilkeningconsulting.com/beware-the-false-consensus-effect/

[8] See Gallas and Perry, Interpreting Slavery at Museums and Historic Sites, chapters 1 and 2.

[9] https://wilkeningconsulting.com/beware-the-false-consensus-effect/

[10] See Mount Vernon, Monticello, Alabama Department of History and Archives, and Texas Historical Commission.

[11] Andrea Jones, email to the author, January 8, 2025.

[12] Ibid.

[13] See MASS Action Toolkit An Introduction to the MASS Action Toolkit from the Co-Founder | the incluseum or Interpreting Slavery at Museums and Historic Sites, edited by Kristin L. Gallas and James DeWolf Perry

[14] Texas Historical Group Removes Slavery Books At Ex-Slave Plantations: Report | HuffPost Latest News and Crazy in Alabama: Learning to live with the anti-woke mind virus – al.com

[15] Andrea Jones, email to the author, January 8, 2025.

[16] Beware! The False Consensus Effect – Wilkening Consulting

[17] See “Reframing History,” “The Messy and Vulnerable Truth about Trust and Museums,” TrendsWatch 2019, “Can museums be neutral or should they take a stance?”

[18] See examples from Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial, Ford’s Theatre, and Frederick Douglass National Historic Site.

[19] “Standing Up to Donald Trump’s Fear Tactics,” New York Times, Jan. 17, 2025, accessed 1.20.25.

[20] See:  https://aaslh.org/together-in-the-face-of-uncertainty/; https://www.aam-us.org/2025/01/29/three-first-steps-you-can-take-in-a-time-of-rapid-change/; https://engagingplaces.net/2025/02/03/navigating-new-federal-policies-what-executive-orders-mean-for-history-museums-and-historic-sites/; https://afj.org/article/how-nonprofits-can-fight-back-against-trumps-harmful-executive-orders/;  https://www.npr.org/2025/02/05/nx-s1-5286299/nsa-museum-dei-exhibit-women-people-of-color-trump; https://museumsandheritage.com/advisor/posts/museums-can-stand-trump-discriminatory-politics/

[21] Be sure to post your institutional values everywhere the public can see them – online and IRL.

[22] The EO about cancel diversity, equity, and inclusion training/programming uses the language “under whatever name they appear” to try to scare institutions from renaming their diversity programming with words like “welcoming” or “belonging.”

[23] https://casel.org/casel-sel-framework-11-2020/?view=1

[24] https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/hate-speech-legal

[25] https://nps.gov/search/?affiliate=nps&sitelimit=%2F&sort_by=&query=first+amendment+activities

[26] This quote is often attributed to civil rights leader and Congressman John Lewis. It originates with Hillel the Elder, a Jewish religious leader and scholar from the first century CE, as “If I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?”