CONGRESSIONAL HEARING ON DIVERSITY IN THE SMITHSONIAN HELD IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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Home / In the Press / CONGRESSIONAL HEARING ON DIVERSITY IN THE SMITHSONIAN HELD IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
The National Museum of the American Latino Act (H.R. 2420) secured support of a bipartisan majority of the House
Washington, DC— Today, the Committee on House Administration is hosting a hearing on diverse stories in the Smithsonian Institution, Oversight of the Smithsonian Institution: Opportunities for Growth by Honoring Latino Americans and Asian Pacific Americans. Among the legislation in consideration is H.R. 2420, the National Museum of the American Latino Act, a bipartisan, bicameral bill to establish a museum on the National Mall dedicated to honoring the contributions of Latinos throughout American history.
With 263 bipartisan co-sponsors in the House and 27 in its Senate counterpart, the bill calls for the same size, location and funding model as other Smithsonian museums: a 50/50 public-private partnership.
“We are grateful to the Committee on House Administration for the opportunity to reemphasize the urgent need to establish a National American Latino Museum to ensure we tell the story of the vast and essential Latino contributions to the building of our nation in every aspect of society,” said Danny Vargas, Chairman of the Friends of the American Latino Museum (FRIENDS) board. “Today, we continue our exciting momentum towards the passage of the authorization bill in the 116th Congress.”
Henry Muñoz, Chair of the National Museum of the American Latino Commission, which first explored the need for a Smithsonian National American Latino Museum, testified as a witness. Lead co-sponsors of the National Museum of the American Latino Act Congressmen José Serrano (D-NY) and Will Hurd (R-TX) also testified, and were joined by Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch, III, Congresswoman Grace Meng (D-NY), Princeton University History Professor Dr. Beth Lew-Williams, Congressional Research Service Specialist Dr. Eric Petersen, and Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center Director Lisa Sasaki.
“Our mission is simple: to tell the stories of the American Latino community, and ensure that those stories have a permanent home for every American to better understand the diversity that exists at the root of our founding,” said Estuardo Rodriguez, President & CEO of FRIENDS. “This year, we are closer than ever to our goal of creating a Smithsonian National American Latino Museum to preserve and celebrate our heritage for future generations.”
Latino stories are the most underrepresented in the Smithsonian’s collections—as acknowledged by the institution itself in its 1994 Willful Neglect report, and reconfirmed in UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute’s 2018 report, demonstrating a lack of Latino voices and history so severe, it seemed intentional. In 2011, the presidentially-appointed commission to study the potential creation of a National Museum of the American Latino submitted its report to explore the feasibility of a museum. The National Museum of the American Latino Act acts on the report’s recommendations to move forward with the creation of a Smithsonian National American Latino Museum and take an important step towards righting the disparities outlined in the 1994 report that remain.
