Laphonza Butler Questions Smithsonian Director On Addressing 'Complex Issues' And 'Controversy'

5 months ago

During a Senate Rules Committee hearing last week, Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-CA) spoke about the Smithsonian's approach to covering controversial episodes in history.

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Transcript

00:00Very good. So next up, we have several new members of the committee. Senator Britt, who

00:06was here earlier, and Senator LaFonza Butler, who is here for 14 months. So she asks her

00:12questions really fast. No, not really. Because she has to get a lot done quickly. So with

00:16that, I turn it over to Senator Butler of the State of California.

00:20Thank you, Chairwoman Klobuchar, Ranking Member Fischer. Secretary, thank you so much

00:27for coming. There's so many accolades, I'm sure, that have been lauded onto you deservingly

00:33about your work here in Washington. But for an Angeleno, it all starts at camp. And your

00:42contribution to generations of Angelenos teaching us about the history of our city and the place

00:52that we belong, I think, was just remarkable. And all the platitudes earned, but I want

01:03to make sure that even Washington, D.C. knows that California was where this started. And

01:09hopefully, and they are continuing to see your leadership from Los Angeles. And so thank

01:16you for your work and service and for being here. I do sort of move a little bit rapidly,

01:23so I'm going to try to move around a couple of big topics pretty quickly in my time. The

01:30Chair has allotted us five minutes for questions, but you have said that there are, in your

01:34strategic plan, sort of five focus points. And you noted just in your response to Senator

01:40Warner, the asset of the Smithsonian as a trusted source for the American people and

01:49indeed travelers around the world who want to understand the history of our country.

01:56And you talk specifically about this trusted source as it relates to complex topics like

02:01social justice, like climate. So here are two quick questions. Can you say a little

02:09bit about how you're working to ensure that Americans who are unable to visit D.C. can

02:16understand the Smithsonian as a trusted source? I think some of what you're talking about

02:21relative to virtual exhibits could be responsive to that. But also, how you and your team are

02:31telling the tough stories that are the truth around these complex issues in the story of

02:38our country. Well, I think first of all, what's really important for us is to use all the

02:43Smithsonian assets to make sure the country reaps the benefit of the Smithsonian. So while

02:49a lot of it is virtual, also it's our traveling exhibitions. The other thing we do is we do

02:54a lot of programs with students that we bring students in from wherever they are into Washington.

03:00So we basically really have, as in our DNA, the recognition that we are more about outside

03:07of Washington than we are inside of Washington. Now, the second question is this real issue

03:11of the difficult issues. And I've really felt that that's really the Smithsonian's job,

03:18that at a time when you need clarity, at a time when there's a debate, you want the Smithsonian

03:24to sort of bring its scholarship, bring its perspective to help people grapple with these

03:30issues. When I built the African American Museum, the real key was to make sure that

03:35I wasn't trying to sort of point fingers of guilt. What I was trying to do was say, here

03:41is a way we understand ourselves by looking at this complexity. And I would argue, whether

03:46it is climate change, whether it is issues of social justice, that the Smithsonian, because

03:51it has art, history, culture, science, can really bring our expertise to bear. But what

03:58we also do is want to recognize that we don't want to sort of get into controversy for controversy's

04:04sake. But we also recognize that if you're going to tell history or science, controversy's

04:09there, so we won't run away from it. So all I ask from my colleagues is, let's think very

04:14carefully about what we do. Let's make sure it's always about driven by scholarship. And

04:20then let's make sure it's always about the greater good, to make sure that this is about

04:24how the Smithsonian is this reservoir of understanding and a reservoir of hope. And if we can continue

04:31to do that, we can help the country move forward.

04:33I love that reservoir of hope. My last question, just in the spirit of time, I know you've

04:40talked a good deal already about the two new museums and the waiver that is necessary from

04:47Congress. Talk to us about the consequences of that waiver not being granted.

04:55In some ways, if the waiver is granted, but it's two years down the road, what it really

05:01means is that you're 15 or 20 years away from an actual museum being built. And so right

05:06now there is attention focused on these museums. There's fundraising. But if people feel that

05:14it's stalled, there's going to be less sort of attention and excitement to it. And now,

05:20candidly, if the waiver isn't granted, then the question is, I'm not sure. Because we've

05:28looked at so many sites, and there are sites that just say, do you knock down a building

05:33and move a whole department of X? I don't think you can do that. So right now I'm committed

05:41and focused to working with people like Senator Klobuchar to make sure that we can get a waiver.

Laphonza Butler Questions Smithsonian Director On Addressing 'Complex Issues' And 'Controversy'

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