Bunch Steps Down After Historic Tenure | Art News

Art News Today | 2 Min News | The Daily News Now! · Sep 15, 2026 · 1m

Lonnie Bunch, the Smithsonian’s first African American secretary and architect of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, is stepping down after eight years—not because of pressure, but to honor his personal goals and celebrate the museum’s milestones. Amid intense criticism from the Trump administration, which accused the institution of promoting a “divisive, race-centered ideology,” Bunch called those claims mischaracterizations, defending the Smithsonian’s mission to tell America’s full, inclusive story. He stood firm against demands to censor exhibits, insisting all…