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Defending the truth: The fight for Black history in 2026

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by Bria Nelson, opinion contributor - 04/12/26 11:00 AM ET

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by Bria Nelson, opinion contributor - 04/12/26 11:00 AM ET

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Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, as seen from the Washington Monument, Tuesday, Dec., 9, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

As the U.S. nears its 250th anniversary, a battle for the soul of U.S. history is unfolding. Last year, reports surfaced of the National Park Service scrubbing exhibits on Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad — a blatant attempt to sanitize the history of resistance against slavery.

While public outcry forced a partial walk-back, this erasure is a part of a broader crusade to whitewash history. It has been spurred in large part by an executive order from the Trump administration calling for “improper, divisive or anti-American ideology” to be removed from the Smithsonian. The aftermath of that executive order included the resignation of National Museum of African American History and Culture director, Kevin Young.

In response, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) on Feb. 26 introduced a resolution in Congress to protect Black history museums and cultural institutions. This move is not merely commemorative; it is a defensive shield for the “truth-tellers” who document the systemic nature of racism in the U.S. Pressley’s resolution demands federal protection and funding for these spaces, asserting that “without Black history, America has none.”

The urgency of Pressley’s resolution is underscored by a shifting legal and legislative landscape that has moved from symbolic celebration to active defense. On March 20, the Underground Railroad Education Center in Albany, N.Y., filed a landmark federal lawsuit against the National Endowment for the Humanities, alleging that a $250,000 grant for its $12 million expansion was unlawfully rescinded on the basis of race.

This legal challenge serves as a real-world flashpoint for the African American History Act of 2026, introduced just one week earlier by Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.). While the Albany lawsuit fights to reclaim specific funds targeted by this administration’s mandates against diversity, equity and inclusion or DEI, the legislation seeks to build a permanent financial bulwark, authorizing $20 million over five years to empower the National Museum of African American History and Culture to bypass local censorship by providing its resources directly to students and educators nationwide.

Even at the state level, the Florida Museum of Black History project remains stalled in a legislative gridlock as of March, caught between a desire for representation and a state-level crackdown on DEI. These incidents reflect a coordinated effort to sanitize the American narrative, making Pressley’s call for permanent protections a matter of survival of historical accuracy.

Together, these developments suggest that the protection of Black history is no longer just a matter of cultural preservation, but a high-stakes battle for constitutional and administrative equity.

This fight is critical to defeating racial discrimination in the U.S. and achieving reparations. International human rights bodies including the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, maintain that countries must educate the population to dismantle systemic racism. Furthermore, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights protects the right of communities to preserve their culture — a right that rings hollow without accurate history.

We cannot repair what we refuse to acknowledge. The assault on historical truth is a strategic attempt to foreclose the possibility of restorative justice. To truly honor the nation’s 250th year, we need ask for more.

Black people in the U.S. who are experiencing the legacies of slavery deserve both preservation of their history and true progress toward accountability. This means passing a bill before Congress that has been reintroduced every year since 1989 that would establish an expert commission to study its legacy. The commission would consider how the failure to address harm stemming from slavery has resulted in huge racial disparities between white and Black people in such areas as the ability to accumulate wealth; access health care, education and housing; and environmental outcomes and policing.

Protecting our museums is the first step; paying the debt to right the wrongs of our past is the necessary next one.

Bria Nelson is a U.S. researcher at Human Rights Watch.

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