Press Releases

Tri-Caucus Chairs Express Outrage at Censorship of Exhibits at the National Archives Museum

Washington, November 1, 2024

Today, the Chairs of the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus (CAPAC), Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), and Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) issued a statement in response to this week’s reporting by the Wall Street Journal about U.S. Archivist Colleen Shogan and her top advisers at the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). The reporting describes Dr. Shogan and senior NARA officials directing employees to eliminate references to Martin Luther King Jr., Dolores Huerta, the government’s displacement of indigenous tribes, and the incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II from planned exhibits at the National Archives Museum. 

CAPAC Chair Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28), CHC Chair Rep. Nanette Barragán (CA-44) and CBC Chair Rep. Steven Horsford (NV-04) released the following statement: 

“With ongoing racist and xenophobic hate against our communities heightened by recent inflammatory rhetoric, it is now more critical than ever to shine a light on the chapters of struggle, oppression, and resistance in our nation’s history and on the civil rights leaders who moved us forward. We are outraged by NARA’s censorship of these watershed moments and activists from its exhibits at the National Archives Museum in order to preemptively appease conservative interests. In removing such displays, NARA is, in effect, aligning itself ideologically with the far-right book ban movements nationwide and re-engaging in the same shameful behavior that our federal government leveled against marginalized peoples in centuries past by undermining their very presence in history. 

“Educating the public about not just systemic racism and institutional racism, but about pivotal events in our nations in history that have ongoing impacts on our communities today, will increase understanding and lead to a more inclusive and welcoming society. We urge Dr. Shogan to restore these exhibits and references to ensure that NARA and the National Archives Museum tell the full and most accurate story of our nation.”