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INCLUDING ALL OF OUR STORIES

Searching for Black and other POC STEM professionals who have advanced our understanding of natural phenomena (as well as the application of that knowledge) is a rewarding yet time-consuming effort. Most cultures are very married to one overarching narrative, a singular narrative that tells of the clear winners, linear and upward advancement, and singular male genius. The empire of the United States is no exception.

However, there have been (and still are) historians who want to include those other histories. These historians and social scientists fought to have the names of the other nonwhite and female researchers, scientists, engineers, and designers. These names represented unsung heroes' whose work was crucial to the breakthroughs of the traditional notables. Their research and their discoveries were just as (and sometimes more) important than the people we usually read about

The historians who added to the historical record to include these POC STEM professionals helped to enrich and deepen a story that ignored their contributions. The goal was not to erase well-known scientists and inventors but to include others whose work was just as important. Thomas Alva Edison will always be part of our scientific history, but the work of Lewis Latimer and Granville T. Woods should also be recognized and understood.

This hasn’t just happened with scientific history in the United States but with our entire nation’s history. Adding to and correcting the historical record reveals omissions and wrongs that our country’s grand narrative buried and often tried to erase from collective memory.

Left: Lewis Latimer, Right: Granville T. Woods

Great people, achievements, and events make up our country’s history. However, there are also many things that we as a nation have not yet resolved. There are painful truths to be faced, and remembering those forgotten due to racism, sexism, or classism and their buried work are reminders of a less-than-positive national heritage.
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Of course, some scholars incorrectly suggest that such inclusion is a dilution of history, divisive, or that it is unnecessary and detracts from the importance of well-known (white) figures on record. Inclusion of the history of the rest of us doesn't fit with the American empire’s triumphant retelling of outlandishly wealthy white men, benevolent white saviors, and white Christian conquerors, and the inevitable path of advancement to what became the United States, as if this historical telling was the only way it could have happened. Manifest destiny, indeed.

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK.

It is not enough to control the electoral systems and disrupt the financial markets, this administration must also control who will be included in America's history, and how that history is to be taught. Project 2025 as implemented by the dictatorial vessel Donald Trump and his slithering advisor, Stephen Miller, will right the supposed (and imagined) wrongs done to good white (wealthy) Christian men, both from the past and in the present. The chosen weapons in this regime’s arsenal are erasure and thought control.

The Executive Order “RESTORING TRUTH AND SANITY TO AMERICAN HISTORY” seeks to correct these imagined injustices to the white ruling class. This Executive Order will reverse what has been put into place to counter the dominant American historical narrative and to end the much-needed reflection on the omissions, wrongs, and damaging policies committed by the United States in the past. From the EO:

Museums in our Nation’s capital should be places where individuals go to learn — not to be subjected to ideological indoctrination or divisive narratives that distort our shared history.

To advance this policy, we will restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness –- igniting the imagination of young minds, honoring the richness of American history and innovation, and instilling pride in the hearts of all Americans.

And in Section II

The Vice President, in consultation with the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy and the Special Assistant to the President and Senior Associate Staff Secretary, Lindsey Halligan, Esq., shall work to effectuate the policies of this order through his role on the Smithsonian Board of Regents with respect to the Smithsonian Institution and its museums, education and research centers, and the National Zoo, including by seeking to remove improper ideology from such properties, and shall recommend to the President any additional actions necessary to fully effectuate such policies.

Please note that Smithsonian institutions, most notably the National Museum of African American History and Culture, are under attack. Many programs and the institutions themselves have now been called DEI as a call of discrimination against white men rather than what it has been: a tool to include and serve all. This government considers the history of people of African descent in the United States DEI, and any commentary about the wrongs and the injustices done to Black people in the past will be considered un-American and divisive.

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​SAVE OUR HISTORY AND OURSELVES

So, what can we do? It is now up to all of us to save and archive any information we may have gathered from any institution targeted by this Executive Order. Many librarians, archivists, and historians have fought to uncover, restore, and keep our history alive. Yet, it is the way of an empire to destroy the works of a group thought to be subdued. Unfortunately, America has joined an unenviable group of nations that have committed historical purges.

It has also been the work of unnamed loyal few to cache it until another safe day, perhaps beyond their lifetime and their children’s children’s children’s lifetime. Across the world, people hold texts, scrolls, films, and videos safe keeping. They know that it is precious. It is worth the effort, secrecy, and risk to ensure the passing on of cultural knowledge.

Next newsletter will talk about three institutions and why they should be protected at all costs.

Links

​Executive Order: RESTORING TRUTH AND SANITY TO AMERICAN HISTORY​

The Executive Order is a quick two-pager to read, but it is worth reflecting upon the consequences of these words.

​AP Acquired Military Database of Photographs to be Removed​

AP News acquired a database of military photographs to removed from the military databases.Filled with images of working men and women in uniform, these pictures show a diversity of people fulfilling their duties. Photos that were set to be deleted are of women, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino and Native American. These images were deemed DEI, therefore not in keeping with the directive listed above.

​The Definitive Story of How the National Museum of African American History and Culture Came to Be​

Lonnie G. Bunch tells the story of how the National Museum of African American History and Culture came to be. For context, this article is from September 2016, coming at the tail end of then President Barack Obama, and before the election of Donald Trump to his first term. It's a hopeful reminder of the possibility of America and of the great museum that came forth from an experienced curatorial visionary.
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May Products

The May 2025 Calendars will be here soon! You'll be able to find them listed on this page by the end of next week (25 April 2025). We offer digital downloads of poster-sized calendars that can be printed up to 34" x 44". These calendars are perfect for the classroom, your homeschool room, bulletin board, science room, or library. Additionally, we will give you a blank matching poster-sized calendar.

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Quote of the Week

I want to give Secretary Bunch the last word.

― Lonnie G. Bunch III, the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian from "The Head of the Smithsonian Talks About America’s 250th"​