NNPA Staff Report
On Let It Be Known, the Black Press of America’s daily morning show, Dr. Amos C. Brown exposed what he described as an attempt to erase Black history through the Smithsonian’s decision to return artifacts he loaned to the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Host Stacy M. Brown and co-host Niele Anderson led a discussion that covered the museum’s actions, the political climate under Donald Trump, and the role of the Black church in defending historical truth.
Dr. Brown, president emeritus of the San Francisco NAACP and longtime civil rights leader, said the museum recently notified him that two of his artifacts—a Bible he carried during the movement and a copy of Rev. George Washington Williams’s earliest written history of Black people in America—would be returned. He said the staff cited the items’ fragility after years on display.
“They claimed the light had been on the books too long,” Dr. Brown said. “It’s a museum—they know how to preserve artifacts. This was disrespectful to our history.”
Dr. Brown said the museum had previously asked to keep the items permanently.
“Now, all of a sudden, you can have it back,” he said. “There was no conversation. Just an email.”
He tied the museum’s actions to the Trump administration and its public plan to eliminate diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.
“This is a direct result of Project 2025,” he said. “We didn’t read it. We didn’t take it seriously. Now they’re doing exactly what they said they would do.”
When asked if others have received similar notices from the museum, Dr. Brown said he couldn’t confirm specific cases but said sources told him the staff is acting as if they are “tiptoeing on eggshells.” He said the environment inside the museum has shifted dramatically since previous leadership.
Dr. Brown identified the staffer who contacted him by first name only and said the museum officials’ response was vague.
“They’re talking about some panel that will review whether to keep the items, but I don’t know who’s on this panel,” he said. “Anytime people are in closed-door sessions, and you don’t know who’s making decisions, something’s wrong.”
He confirmed he has had no recent contact with Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch. “Not once,” Dr. Brown said. The segment turned to the national implications. Dr. Brown pointed out Donald Trump’s threats to defund the museum and a broader campaign to ban books and whitewash history. “There is a move in this country to induce cultural and historical Alzheimer’s,” he said. “This nation has been fed conspiracy theories, lies, and a hatred of truth.”
He warned against division and urged churches to teach Black history regularly. “As the Jews do with Passover, we need rituals of remembrance,” he said. “We should be teaching our youth what we’ve survived.”
Dr. Brown also spoke about reparations in California, where he served as co-chair of the state task force. When asked if California would be the first to deliver reparations, he answered flatly: “No.” He cited a lack of political will.
“We’ve had studies, apologies, and talk. But no action.” Anderson and Brown discussed the national response to the museum’s decision. “People are visiting because they’re afraid the museum won’t be the same the next time,”
Anderson said. She also raised questions about the silence from museum leadership and noted that previous offers to keep Dr. Brown’s items had been replaced with attempts to remove them quietly. “Tell your own story. Speak for yourself. And never let anyone mess with your cultural identity,” Dr. Brown said.
