WE CANNOT SELF-ERASE
"Other museums may have a choice to downplay DEI. Black museums have no choice. We are the work. We cannot self-erase." Omar Eaton-Martinez
Omar Eaton-Martinez has been at the forefront of museums’ efforts to become more just and inclusive for more than a decade. While located in the DC area, his work is nationally recognized. He is currently Senior Vice President for Historic Sites at the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and will soon be stepping down as Board Vice Chair at the Association of African American Museums (AAAM). While I’ve known Omar for many years, I learned a great deal about the breadth of his efforts in a recent interview.
Omar’s weekly Museum J.E.D.I Podcast inspired the interview, but our conversation ranged over a number of issues important for museums today. The podcast presents leaders in museums and the cultural sphere “who work at the intersection of Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion.” According to Omar, justice provides the base and is the context for achieving these other societal goals. Why? The acknowledgement that there has been injustice opens the door for efforts toward achieving equity, diversity, and inclusion. You can join the Museum JEDI’s live broadcast every Monday at 5 pm live streamed on Instagram. Archived recordings of previous interviews can be found at www.museumjedi.com
This current podcast series is the second round. In 2020 Omar organized several Museum JEDI conversations about inclusive leadership. He also hosted a discussion with the staff of a newly created program at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History: The Center for Restorative History. Founded by two historians who had worked on the original exhibitions at the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Center aimed to “spotlight the people and stories that have been excluded from our national narrative using the principles of restorative justice….by partnering with communities across the country that continue to resist these exclusions.” Staff from the Center also taught in Gaucher College’s Prison education program at Jessup. Graduates of this program were eligible for paid fellowships with the Center.
After six years of operation with the help of grants and other funding, the Center has been sunset. Descriptions of their nationwide projects as well as educational tools and resources can be found on their website (which I hope will not see the sunset). There is increased pressure from the right to omit or erase from America 250 exactly those stories that need redress. This site can provide research-based information for exhibitions and programs that address contentious issues in our history.
I asked Omar about his assessment of the impact of the current administration on African American Museums. The suppression of DEI in companies, government agencies, and other organizations has had a major impact on Black Museums. Their staff were sought for developing and conducting workshops and training; their spaces were often rented for these programs. In addition to the attack on the values inherent in DEI, there is the very practical issue of lost revenue for museums across the country. And how will these values be restored ethically and responsibly.? This process will no doubt take longer than the rapid destruction that occurred over just one year.
For their part, Omar states, Black museums and cultural centers must stay the course. The alternative is self-erasure. “We have been telling these stories before, and there was always a way. We must make a way out of no way.”
In other news…
Trump changes to Black history exhibits spark fears of self-censorship, loss of information: “The Trump administration is looking to change how Black history is presented at the park sites and museums under its influence. (…) Advocates worry Trump’s efforts are creating a world where employees will self-censor exhibits and Americans will miss valuable information about the country’s history.”
Leaked Interior Department database reveals US plans to revise historical information: “An internal government database first reported by the Washington Post and posted on two public website on Monday revealed the scope of the Trump administration's effort to revise or remove information on African-American history, LGBT rights, climate change and other topics at hundreds of national park sites.”
Pressley Unveils Resolution to Celebrate & Protect Black History Museums & Cultural Institutions, Marking 100th Anniversary of Black History Month: “Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley (MA-07) led 52 of her colleagues in introducing a resolution to honor Black history museums and cultural institutions in their telling of our accurate, shared American history and protect these institutions from erasure, whitewashing, and funding cuts.”
Park Service to revive statue of Founding Father who enslaved hundreds: “A Founding Father and slave owner whose statue in Delaware was removed in 2020 amid calls for racial reckoning will be given a position in honor in Washington by the Trump administration as part of celebrations of the nation’s 250th birthday, internal Interior Department documents show.”
How the National Park Service Is Deleting American History: “Philadelphia sued the Trump administration after it directed the Park Service to rip out a memorial to slavery. Elsewhere, materials about climate change and labor history were being removed.”
It’s not too late to send a postcard (or three or four) to the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents in support of Dr. Lonnie Bunch as Secretary of the Smithsonian. As the governing body of the Smithsonian, the Board of Regents appoints the Secretary. Its chair is the Chief Justice, and members include the Vice President and some members of Congress. If the Regents submit to the pressure the Administration has been applying to the Institution, the role of the Secretary may be vulnerable. Whatever you may think of Dr. Bunch’s leadership, contrast it with that of the Trump-appointed heads of the Kennedy Center or the National Park Service, where there has been complete capitulation to the White House. At the Smithsonian there have been some minor changes in label text in one or two museums, but no major deletions or additions to programming and exhibitions thus far. It is imperative that Dr. Bunch remain at the helm of the Smithsonian. Please send postcards before the April 13, 2026 meeting of the Regents to:
Office of the Regents
Smithsonian Institution
PO Box 37012 MRC 050
Washington, DC 20013-7012
Mark your calendars: Monday, March 9 from 6:30pm to 7:30 pm eastern time, Citizen Historians for the Smithsonian will host Raise Your Voice for the Smithsonian: A Workshop on Writing and Placing Op-Eds. The webinar is free and open to all. Register at this link.
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Best- Gretchen and Rose