Kevin Young, director of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, has resigned after four years in the position, according to an announcement from the museum.
In the statement, the museum noted that Young expressed his desire to focus on his writing career. He remains a poetry editor at The New Yorker.
His departure comes at a time when former President Donald Trump has targeted the Smithsonian institution and the National Museum of African American History and Culture with an executive order. However, Young had already taken a leave of absence prior to the issuance of the order – The Washington Post reported that he took personal leave on March 14.
The original leave was reportedly for an indefinite period, according to the Post. In recent weeks, Sanita Brackett, the museum’s deputy director of operations, had been serving as interim director. On Friday, the museum confirmed Young’s departure.
“We remain committed to telling the multifaceted stories of this country’s remarkable heritage,” said Kevin Young.
Kevin Young’s Appointment and Tenure
When Young was appointed in 2020, he was the director of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, part of the New York Public Library, and poetry editor at The New Yorker. He began working at the museum in 2021 and continued as poetry editor at The New Yorker throughout his tenure, never taking a leave of absence from the magazine.
The museum, which opened in 2016, was built on the National Mall with the mission to tell the story of African Americans to the American public. Young was the second director of the museum, succeeding Lonnie Bunch, who became the Smithsonian’s secretary in 2019, the institution’s highest position.
Trump’s Executive Order
At the Smithsonian, Young found himself leading an institution facing both political and academic challenges. Last month, President Trump issued an executive order calling for the reorganization of the Smithsonian, aiming to transform it into a “symbol of inspiration and American greatness.” The order specifically singled out the African American History Museum, sparking speculation that it could face particular scrutiny from the government.
In the order titled “Restoring Truth and Logic in American History,” Trump targeted what he described as a “revisionist movement” across the country, which “seeks to undermine the remarkable achievements of the United States by casting its founding principles and historical landmarks in a negative light.”
The order argued that the Smithsonian, in particular, had been “influenced by a divisive, race-centered ideology” and promoted “narratives that present American and Western values as inherently harmful and oppressive.”
Lonnie Bunch and Future Pressures
The executive order presents a challenge for Bunch, who was not informed of the decision beforehand. While he has not publicly commented, he sent an email to Smithsonian employees last week expressing his intent to remain steadfast, saying, “We remain committed to telling the multifaceted stories of this country’s remarkable heritage.”
Indications of the pressure Bunch might face from the Trump administration in the future surfaced when White House Communications Director Steven Chang referred to Bunch as a “failure” in a statement earlier this week, according to The New York Times.
“Leftist Indoctrination”
The museum opened with strong bipartisan support, but it has faced criticism from some Republicans, as race and diversity are contentious issues. In a 2023 Congressional hearing with Bunch, some Republicans accused the Smithsonian of “leftist indoctrination.”
During Bunch’s tenure, the museum organized a series of high-profile exhibitions with strong artistic and cultural significance, including “Reckoning,” an exhibition on Black art and protest that opened in 2021, and “Afrofuturism,” which opened in 2023.
Sources: New York Times, New York Post
