Italian communist Antonio Gramsci argued that for the Marxist revolution to take hold in capitalist countries the Left needed to begin a “long march through the institutions” of Western civilization to co-opt them and work within them to radically change the cultural values and outlook of society as a whole. In America this “march” began in the sixties as cultural Marxists infiltrated and took over our universities. But, as new generations of ideologically rewired college grads have emerged, it is evident that the “march” is now picking up speed. The Left is moving quickly to impose its radical agenda in every sector of society, from schools to churches, from corporations to our armed forces.
The most recent front of this cultural blitzkrieg is the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino. Created by Congress in the massive omnibus funding bill of 2020, the museum is already being used as an instrument to advance a culturally Marxist agenda of victimhood, resentment, and group conflict.
Its first exhibit, Presente! A Latino History of the United States, which was rolled out as a preview of what the museum would be all about, provides a blatantly Marxist portrayal of Hispanics in America, reducing their experience to “a struggle for justice” as activists in support of every major progressive cause. As to be expected, the lives of numerous labor, immigration and LGBT activists are highlighted, while little or no attention at all is paid to Hispanic entrepreneurs and small business owners, military heroes, or faith leaders.
This exhibit is not an outlier either. The museum was already planning to open another socialist themed exhibit that would focus on progressive organizations that questioned the benefits of American democracy and our capitalist system. The exhibit was halted at the very last minute, however, after conservative activists and Republican members of Congress began denouncing the museum’s leftist ideological bent. Museum directors cannot afford to generate more controversy at a time when they need to secure funding from Congress to cement the museum’s creation and secure a location for its construction on the Washington Mall.
It is worth noting, to show the radical mindset of those working for the museum, that Professor Johanna Fernández of Baruch College, one of the exhibit’s curators, reacted to its cancellation with the outrageous and unfair broad-brush claim that opponents of the museum are conservative Cuban Americans from Florida who “were part of an autocratic and dictatorial and predominately white ruling class,” which is definitely not the case. The ethnic roots and background of museum critics are very varied.
There should be no question that, once fully established, the museum would be controlled by people who share the extreme views of Professor Fernández. The museum’s 18-member Scholarly Advisory Committee, for example, which is responsible for supervising and providing guidance to exhibit curators, is dominated almost in its entirety by radical progressive professors and researchers who specialize in critical race theory and gender and queer studies.
Fortunately, Republicans in the House of Representatives paid attention to the growing number of Hispanic voices denouncing what is happening at the museum. They voted as a bloc to defund it in the fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill for the Department of the Interior. House appropriators accurately diagnosed the fundamental problem with the museum when they stated in the bill’s report that “the museum almost myopically portrays Latinos as an oppressed monolith united largely by their victimhood, neglecting the nuanced and varied experiences, including remarkable successes, of the American Latino, and despite the thousands of courageous Latino military heroes that served our country proudly and honorably…”
As the appropriations process continues, House leadership should stand firm against any effort by Senate Democrats to put the museum money back in. Nor should they be swayed by moderate or culturally liberal Republicans who think the museum somehow can be saved by providing legislative guidelines.
The reality is that the museum cannot be fixed. Activist leftist museum curators will find ways to go around any limits imposed by Congress.
House Republicans should not be concerned either that defunding the museum will not be well received by Hispanics. There is no doubt that Americans of Hispanic origin are proud of their roots, yet it is safe to say that the vast majority would not want a museum that distorts their history and seems curated by woke Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
If Republicans are seriously committed to fighting against the woke agenda that is being pushed throughout the key institutions of our country, then they must stop the Left’s march through the Smithsonian Latino Museum.
Alfonso Aguilar is the Director of Hispanic Engagement at American Principles Project and former Chief of the U.S. Office of Citizenship in the administration of President George W. Bush.