MATSUI STATEMENT ON SMITHSONIAN SECRETARY LONNIE BUNCH’S ANNOUNCEMENT

SACRAMENTO, CA - Today, Congresswoman Doris Matsui (CA-07), a member of the Smithsonian Board of Regents, released the following statement after Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch announced that he would retire from his position after seven years leading the Smithsonian Institution.

"Lonnie Bunch has spent his life telling America's full story, with honesty, with humanity, and a deep belief in the power of history to help us better understand one another. His leadership has made the Smithsonian stronger, more inclusive, and more open to the millions of people who look to this treasured institution to learn who we are as a nation.

"Lonnie and I have known each other and worked together for two decades, first when he was Director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture and now as Secretary. As the Board of Regents' representative to the Museum's Council, I worked alongside him through its development and construction, and saw up close the vision and persistence it took to build a place worthy of the stories it holds. Lonnie took the Museum from a bold idea to a national treasure, one that faces our painful history squarely and sends every visitor home with hope.

"He brought that same spirit to his time as Secretary. Lonnie has led the Smithsonian with grace and integrity through some extraordinarily difficult moments. He never lost sight of what the Institution is for: to preserve our history, pursue knowledge, and tell the American story in all of its complexity. Grounded in the truth of that history, he has pushed it to new heights.

"Lonnie has my deepest gratitude for his decades of service and for everything he has done to strengthen the Smithsonian for generations to come. Most people know him as one of the nation's great historians and cultural leaders. I am proud to say he is my dear friend. I wish him and his family every happiness in this well-earned next chapter."

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