Congresswoman Nikema Williams Leads Call for Protection of African American History Museum Funding Against Harmful Executive Order

(WASHINGTON) – Today, Congresswoman Nikema Williams (GA-05), along with Congresswoman Yvette Clarke (NY-09), wrote a letter to President Donald Trump calling for clarity on how his March 14, 2025 Executive Order (Continuing the Reduction of the Federal Bureaucracy) will impact the Museum Grants for African American History and Culture, a statutorily authorized and funded program. 

In the letter, Congresswoman Nikema Williams shares concerns that this effort comes as part of a coordinated effort by the Trump Administration to erase any mention of the contributions Black Americans have made to our country, as evidenced in part by the Department of Defense removing pages referencing Jackie Robinson’s military service and training materials removing work of the Tuskegee Airmen.

Congresswoman Nikema Williams and Congresswoman Yvette Clarke strongly encourage the President to reverse course and fully implement the laws passed by Congress that recognize Black Americans as people worthy of having their unique and historic contributions to our country memorialized, preserved, and taught to current and future generations.

The members wrote:

“Your Administration is clearly communicating that Black Americans, no matter their contributions nor their bravery nor their service to our country, are not worthy of celebration nor notoriety. Your Administration is prioritizing a political ideology that holds people, based solely on the color of their skin, as more worthy of renown over efforts to ensure the factual accuracy of our country’s history. Further, you are explicitly subverting the expressed will of Congress to do so.”

“The African American History and Culture (AAHC) program provides invaluable support for local museums that work to preserve and showcase the contributions of the African American community and the leaders who fought tirelessly to secure the promise of fundamental civil rights and human dignity for Black Americans. To deny funding and resources to these efforts is to deny the straightforward facts of American history.”

“AAHC funds support projects that bring the full reality of American history to our communities, including programs that foster “collaborations within the community, to include schools, institutions of higher education, and other cultural organizations” and “support the growth and development of museum professionals at African American museums.” Congress has spoken clearly in its passage of the National Museum of African American History and Culture Act and its continued robust funding of the AAHC program: Congress considers these investments to improve our educators’ ability to teach our students and our communities the information they need to be thoughtful, engaged, knowledgeable citizens, and to bring value to our understanding of our own history as a country.”

Read the full letter here.