The director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History faced pointed questions from House Republicans Tuesday over exhibits and materials they characterized as woke, including a display linking Mickey Mouse to racism and a museum toolkit discussing “objectivity” as a feature of White supremacy.
Several Republican members questioned Director Anthea Hartig about sexually explicit imagery in exhibits, including “bondage,” in the words of Chairman Tim Burchett, R-Tenn. Texas Rep.
Brandon Gill’s exchanges focused on one of America’s most iconic childhood characters.
“Is Mickey Mouse racist?” Gill asked Hartig about halfway through his allotted five minutes.
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“Mickey Mouse is not racist,” Hartig replied.
Gill responded by pointing to a Smithsonian Institution exhibit that described Steamboat Willie as representing “vestiges of long-standing traditions of blackface minstrelsy’.”
“Would you describe that as racist?” Gill pressed.
Hartig began explaining the “historical trajectory” of Mickey Mouse before brief crosstalk. She then finished, saying, “[He’s] rooted in minstrelsy.”
When Gill asked whether the purported racist overtones were “problematic,” Hartig responded that it was not her role to make that determination.
Gill also cited the MASS Action Toolkit, a mid-2010s anthology for museums that references the 2014 Ferguson, Missouri, police shooting and subsequent Black Lives Matter protests, and asked Hartig whether it was important to be “polite.”
Gill then cited passages from the toolkit discussing “objectivity” and politeness in relation to White supremacy culture. He asked Hartig whether the guide’s characterization implied she was a White supremacist.
“Can you help me square why your organization says that being polite is part of being a White supremacist?” Gill added. Hartig replied she could not immediately recall that passage.
Gill also asked Hartig whether it was important to be objective.
After Hartig answered largely in the affirmative, Gill pointed to the toolkit’s discussion of objectivity.
A 2017 copy of the toolkit available online stated that “Jones and Okun also list objectivity as a characteristic of a White supremacy culture. This encompasses repressing emotions in decision-making or group processes, thinking in a linear fashion, impatience with those who do not exhibit linear thinking or with thinking that does not appear logical.”
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“Museum staff have never been objective, but because dominant norms typically coincide with the worldview of the vast majority of museum staff, it has appeared to be objective to the dominant culture. Those with worldviews outside of the dominant culture are hyperaware of the fallacy in this pretense of museum objectivity,” the toolkit went on.
When asked whether the characterization concerned her, Hartig replied, “It’s not our toolkit.”
Gill said the Smithsonian had promoted the toolkit for years.
