Marking the conclusion of Black History Month, U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., introduced a resolution in Congress on Thursday seeking to recognize and celebrate the significance of Black history museums and cultural institutions.
“The preservation of our shared history and culture is only possible if we support and protect our Black history museums and cultural institutions,” Rep. Pressley told theGrio exclusively. “As we mark the 100th anniversary of Black History Month commemorations—and the 250th anniversary of the United States—we recognize that these milestones are inextricably intertwined as this nation was built by the contributions, brilliance, and sacrifice of our Black ancestors.”
The resolution, co-signed by 52 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, summarizes the contributions of Black Americans to U.S. history and culture and their efforts to expand American democracy as the nation commemorates its 250th anniversary this summer.
“The American colonies and the United States directly benefited from the labor of millions of enslaved Africans and their descendants,” reads the resolution. “Black Americans have expanded American democracy at critical junctures throughout history—from Crispus Attucks as the first casualty of the American Revolution, to the 2,000 Black elected officials of Reconstruction who secured the 14th and 15th Amendments, to the Montgomery Bus Boycott that ushered in desegregation.”
The bill emphasizes the important role that Black history museums and cultural institutions play in rectifying the “historical omission, marginalization, and misrepresentation of Black people in mainstream museums and textbooks,” as well as preserving “irreplaceable records, artifacts, and narratives documenting the full scope of African-derived cultures’ contributions to the United States and the world.”
Pressley’s resolution also calls on U.S. citizens to “confront” present-day efforts to “erase or distort Black history and to uplift Black history museums and cultural institutions as trusted spaces for truth-telling, learning, dialogue, and healing.”
Pressley’s legislative action comes amid several controversial actions by the Trump administration targeting Black history museums and institutions, including the removal of exhibitions referencing slavery.
In March 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order, “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” scrutinizing Smithsonian Institutions like the National Museum of African American History and Culture and what the EO describes as exhibits and programs that “degrade shared American values, divide Americans based on race, or promote programs or ideologies inconsistent with Federal law and policy.” In August 2025, Trump complained about the museum’s (part of the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.) highlighting “how horrible our Country is, how bad Slavery was.”
Most recently, the U.S. Park Service removed a slavery exhibit at President George Washington’s former home in Philadelphia, which highlighted the nine individuals he and his wife enslaved. A federal court ordered the exhibit to be restored; however, the Trump administration said it would appeal the decision.
“Amid Trump’s attempts to rewrite and whitewash our past and the systemic oppression of marginalized people that lives on today, it is incumbent upon us all to uplift the institutions that tell the truth of our shared history,” the congresswoman told theGrio. “This resolution affirms the indispensable role of Black history museums and cultural institutions in our democracy and makes plain that we will stand in vigorous defense of these spaces, their work, and our stories against our erasure.”
