In the midst of the clash between the Trump administration and the Smithsonian, Lonnie G. Bunch III, the 14th secretary of the Smithsonian, announced his resignation yesterday, bringing to a close nearly 38 years of service at the institution and a career that has profoundly shaped the museum world in the United States and beyond. Bunch made the announcement in an official statement: “It is with mixed feelings and deep gratitude that I announce my retirement from the Smithsonian,” Bunch said. “I have spent nearly half my life working and being part of the Smithsonian family, and it has been an immense privilege. There is no other place like the Smithsonian: it has been one of the great loves of my life, and I am extraordinarily proud of what we have achieved together. I leave with pride and sadness, gratitude and joy, and with enormous confidence in the people who will carry on this extraordinary institution.”
Appointed secretary in June 2019, Bunch was the first African American and the first historian to hold this position in the Smithsonian’s history. As Secretary, he led what is considered the world’s largest museum, education, and research complex, comprising twenty-one museums, twenty libraries, the National Zoo, numerous research centers, and various units and centers dedicated to education.
Bunch announced his retirement to the chair of the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents, Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court John G. Roberts Jr., who took the opportunity to reflect on the secretary’s career—which began as a young curator at the Smithsonian in Washington, continued with his role as founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, and culminated over the past seven years at the helm of the institution. According to Roberts, Bunch’s work has represented an invaluable contribution in terms of wisdom, vision, and leadership to the entire Board of Regents.
Over the course of his nearly forty years at the Smithsonian, Bunch has guided the institution through some of the most significant moments in its recent history, from the acquisition of the Greensboro sit-in counter for the National Museum of American History to the Smithsonian’s role in producing the first image of a black hole, including the arrival of two new giant pandas at the National Zoo and the Institute for Conservation Biology.
Before assuming the role of secretary, Bunch served as the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture. When he took on this role in 2005, the museum had no building, no collection, no funding, and virtually no staff—consisting of just one person. Over the next eleven years, Bunch worked alongside colleagues, donors, and supporters to bring to life a project that had been in the works for over a century, guiding the museum from the conceptual phase through to its opening in September 2016. Since opening, the museum has welcomed over 13 million visitors, becoming one of the most visited destinations in the entire Smithsonian complex; by the end of the month, the museum will also celebrate the 10th anniversary of its opening.
Bunch first joined the Smithsonian in 1978, beginning his career at the National Air and Space Museum and subsequently holding various curatorial and leadership positions at the National Museum of American History until 2000. As associate director for curatorial affairs, he oversaw the museum’s curatorial and collections management staff, helping to lead major exhibitions and initiatives dedicated to American history, culture, and identity.
During his career, Bunch temporarily left the Smithsonian to serve as president of the Chicago Historical Society, where he successfully led a fundraising campaign, spearheaded an institutional reorganization, and expanded engagement with new audiences. He returned to the Smithsonian in 2005 to lead the creation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, one of the most ambitious projects in the institution’s history.
During his tenure as secretary, Bunch led a period of growth and transformation across the entire Smithsonian complex, while also advancing projects related to two future museums authorized by Congress: the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum and the National Museum of the American Latino.
A historian and prolific author, Bunch has written on topics ranging from the African American experience to the U.S. presidency, as well as museum management and public history. His most recent book, which chronicles the creation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture across the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations, details the challenges encountered in bringing the project to fruition. His work has been recognized with numerous national and international awards, including the W.E.B. Du Bois Medal, the Dan David Prize, the French Legion of Honor, the Roosevelt Institute’s Freedom Medal, lifetime achievement awards from the American Alliance of Museums and the African American Association of Museums, as well as election to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and more than twenty-five honorary degrees from various universities.
In the statement, Bunch explained that the time has come to begin a new chapter in his life, one that will allow him to continue safeguarding the integrity of the Smithsonian and championing the importance of a historical narrative capable of illuminating and celebrating the complexity of the nation’s history, describing the institution as a repository of science, history, art, and culture that freely offers the public knowledge, understanding, clarity, education, hope, and a touch of joy.
Bunch’s departure comes more than a year after the Trump administration took office for its second term, an administration that, according to him, has sought to steer the Smithsonian’s direction in line with its own political views. Recently, the administration threatened to cut off federal funding to the institution, subjected the Smithsonian museums to particularly intense scrutiny, and demanded the display of political signs outside the National Museum of American History, intended to alert the public to an alleged ideological influence on the institution. Furthermore, last year, Trump falsely claimed to have fired the director of the National Portrait Gallery, Kim Sajet—the first woman to lead that museum—describing her as a highly politically partisan figure and a supporter of diversity, equity, and inclusion policies; Sajet ultimately resigned from her position.
Although her term is now nearing its end, Bunch reiterated that she has no intention of abandoning the fight to preserve the autonomy of the Smithsonian, an institution founded by Congress in 1846 as an independent entity. He told The Washington Post that this is a historic moment in which that independence is being called into question, but that he firmly believes the institution retains the same autonomy it has always had, and he is committed to continuing to defend it for as long as he remains in office.
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| In the midst of the clash with Trump, Lonnie G. Bunch, the Smithsonian's secretary, resigns |
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