Rep. Wilson Honors Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III Following Retirement Announcement

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson (FL-24) released the following statement on the retirement of Lonnie G. Bunch III.

"Lonnie Bunch III did not simply preserve history. He made it, defended it, and refused to let anyone erase it.

"As the first Black Secretary of the Smithsonian and founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, he transformed a dream carried across generations into a national treasure.

"For 38 years, Secretary Bunch fought to ensure that Black history was protected and told truthfully. When powerful forces sought to censor exhibits, distort the past, and diminish the Black experience, he stood firmly in their way.

"Attempts to censor our history cannot erase it, and attempts to silence the truth will only make us tell it louder.

"If there is a sword worth falling on, it is this: We will never stop telling the full American story."

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