The White House has begun advancing an American Freedom Compact for universities in an effort to reaffirm open inquiry, viewpoint diversity, and intellectual freedom in higher education. This is an effort that cannot stop at the campus gates.
America’s museums educate millions of students every year, often more than universities do. For many children, a museum visit is not only an enrichment experience but also an educational opportunity. Exhibits teach about the arts, humanities, history, and sciences in profound ways that shape how young Americans understand the world.
Despite these facts, museums are rarely held to the same academic standards that we often expect from universities.
Increasingly, publicly-funded museums present contested interpretations as if they were fact. Complex artistic talent is stifled with woke narratives focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion, historical debates are reduced to political talking points, and scientific exploration is replaced with ideological narratives.
Museums throughout America have become ideological classrooms of their own.
Academic freedom should not simply be a pillar of excellence on our university campuses, but likewise must be prevalent in our museums. All American students deserve the same safeguards to discuss opposing ideas freely and openly.
A Museum Compact for American Freedom would establish baseline principles for publicly supported cultural institutions, modeled on those now being proposed for higher education. Such a compact would protect the conditions necessary for honest academic standards and open discussions.
At a minimum, it would affirm three principles:
First, it would support open inquiry. Museums should acknowledge when subjects are debated and present multiple credible perspectives, especially on issues where scholarship is contested.
Second, it would promote transparency. Funding sources, curatorial frameworks, and institutional partnerships should be publicly disclosed so visitors can understand how the presented narratives are shaped for their educational purposes.
Third, it would create space for diversity in viewpoints. Taxpayer-funded museums should not function as ideological monocultures. They should reflect the breadth of scholarly debate, not the preference of a narrow cultural elite.
Critics might argue that museums are not universities and that curators must make their individual choices. While that is true, such choices do not require indoctrination, and curator expertise does not justify the exclusion of separate narratives.
Academic freedom does not mean unchallenged ideas are presented as fact. It means ideas are tested through evidence and argument, not enforced through authority and manipulation.
The Smithsonian and other federally-supported museums already enjoy extraordinary public trust. But that trust comes with its own responsibility to the populations served. A Museum Compact would help restore confidence that these institutions exist to educate, rather than indoctrinate.
The White House has an opportunity to lead the American people through this compact. By extending academic freedom principles beyond universities, it can reaffirm that education in all publicly supported institutions must remain open, honest, and accountable.
Museums should be places of discovery, not home to political dogma. A Museum Compact for American Freedom would help ensure they remain open to ideas for taxpayers today and the generations of tomorrow.
Dylan Coombs serves as spokesman at Americans for Museums.
