Bishop Earl Walker Jackson, a great-grandson of slaves, has issued a sharp warning about the Smithsonian National Museum of American History. He says the museum is pushing an anti-American narrative that teaches visitors to feel angry and resentful toward the United States. Jackson spoke out after the White House released a report in July accusing the museum of "ideological capture." The New York Post reported that Jackson believes this "indoctrination machine" is hard at work convincing people to hate our nation.
Jackson knows the struggle of his ancestors, yet he refuses to let them be used as a tool for division. He told Fox News Digital that being born in America is a "proverbial lottery" filled with hope and opportunity. "if you were born an American, you hit the proverbial lottery because you have more opportunity and hope than any people living anywhere else on the planet," Jackson said. This view clashes directly with the museum's current leadership, which Jackson argues is trying to rewrite history to fit a political agenda.
"This is a wonderful country; it's the greatest nation on earth."
Bishop Earl Walker Jackson, a descendant of slaves, is blasting what he calls anti-American "indoctrination" at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
Jackson, whose great-grandparents were… pic.twitter.com/oWocsBqrlW
— Fox News (@FoxNews) August 10, 2026
The White House report included specific examples of how the museum has shifted its focus away from facts. It highlighted a presentation by museum director Anthea Hartig, where she called "history as a practice" a "prime tool of social justice." Per reports, Hartig told students that the "United States' long and violent racial history continues to be present in our reckoning." She argued that redress should go beyond simple acknowledgement and include "restorative justice through history."
Jackson found these comments deeply troubling because they turn history into a weapon. "But no, she wants to use history to try to get people to think a certain way and respond a certain way and, namely, to be somewhat angry and bitter and resentful of our country because of our past," Jackson stated. He insists that history should only provide facts so people can draw their own conclusions. RedState noted that Jackson is not alone in his concern, as other conservative Blacks are calling out the museum's "terrible take on Black American history."
Examining the President's House Slave Exhibit and Black History
I came down to the President's House exhibit to see what the controversy is about regarding the language used to describe the enslaved people who worked for George Washington. I talk about how the conversation is… pic.twitter.com/zaR5BrYaKX
— John Allante McAuley (@AllanteMcAuley) August 4, 2026
His concern extends far beyond academic circles to the families visiting these halls (the very places where our kids form their first ideas of the nation). Jackson explained that he feels angry when people do this to our country, but he also feels sad about the damage being done. "It makes me angry when people do this to our country, but it's sad too because what it tells me is that the indoctrination machine is hard at work convincing people [of] this narrative," he said.
When museums teach visitors to see the nation only through the lens of race and class, they strip away the blessing of the United States. We must protect our children from being taught to hate the very land that offers them more freedom than anywhere else on earth. The museum has become a place where facts are twisted to serve a specific political view rather than to honor the truth. Jackson reminds us that the United States is the "greatest nation on earth," and we should not let anyone convince us otherwise. Do you think museums have a duty to teach facts or to push a specific social agenda?