Smithsonian Museum’s Anti-Racism Toolkit Labels Objectivity as Core Component of White Supremacy

On Tuesday, Representative Brandon Gill of Texas accused the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History of promoting an ideology that defines objectivity and politeness as characteristics of “white supremacy culture.”

During a House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee hearing titled “Rewriting American History: Examining the Smithsonian’s Efforts to Reshape the Past,” Gill questioned museum director Anthea Hartig about the institution’s anti-racism toolkit.

According to Gill, the tool identifies objectivity as a defining trait of white supremacist culture. “They had been promoting an anti-racist toolkit that was used to determine whether somebody is promoting white supremacist culture,” Gill stated. “And one of the aspects of white supremacist culture, according to the Smithsonian’s own anti-racism toolkit, is objectivity.”

When asked if she believed objectivity should be the goal in historical interpretation, Hartig confirmed it was part of the museum’s approach. Gill then pressed her on politeness, noting that the toolkit also lists it as a characteristic of white supremacy.

The hearing followed a July 4 White House Domestic Policy Council report accusing the museum of ideological bias in its exhibits on American founding, immigration, race, and gender. The 162-page report states that museum staff regularly discuss a “Museums as a Site for Social Action” toolkit containing a document that identifies objectivity, individualism, and other traits as characteristics of white supremacy culture.

President Donald Trump ordered the review in March 2025 to remove what his administration called divisive or anti-American ideology from Smithsonian properties.

In written testimony, Hartig said the report did not fairly characterize the museum’s work and that its exhibits are governed by standards of scholarship, accuracy, independence, and nonpartisanship.

Gill criticized the museum for minimizing the nation’s founders while presenting politically progressive themes to young visitors, as well as for its treatment of immigration, transgender Americans, and popular culture — including a display linking Mickey Mouse to traditions of blackface minstrelsy.

Additionally, Gill stated that the House would approve a fiscal 2027 budget resolution to launch work on a third Republican reconciliation bill carrying portions of the SAVE America Act. The House Budget Committee advanced the resolution 20-14 last Thursday, but it must still pass the full House and Senate before committees can write the legislation. “We hope that it will get through the Senate as well,” Gill said. “We are trying to do anything we possibly can to get the SAVE America Act to the president’s desk.”