Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie Bunch said on 6 July that the United States must confront — not erase — its difficult past if it hopes to fulfil the promise of its democracy, as America marked the 250th anniversary of its independence. Speaking on NBC's special Meet the Press broadcast, Bunch argued that grappling honestly with history is among the country's most enduring strengths.

A Nation Always in Pursuit

Bunch framed America's founding ideals not as achievements but as an ongoing obligation. 'To me it means that we are always in pursuit. We are in pursuit of the promise of America,' he said. 'That in essence, we'll almost never get there, and that's okay. That the notion of being a more perfect union, not the perfect union, is really what motivates me.'

He argued that the country's full history — including its most painful chapters — must be embraced rather than avoided. 'America's greatest strength, it's not running away from its history, but it's understanding how that history shaped us and continues to shape us,' Bunch said.

From Sharecropper's Grandson to Smithsonian Secretary

Bunch, the first Black Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, drew on his own family's arc to illustrate the distance America has travelled. He described his grandfather as a sharecropper from North Carolina who spent ten years earning a college degree before attending dental school at Howard University and practising dentistry for five decades.

Asked what his grandfather would make of his achievements, Bunch said: 'I think he would be astonished. He'd be proud of America. Proud of a nation that can come out of slavery, and Jim Crow and Civil Rights, to basically say, 'It's possible for someone like me to be part of this amazing group called the Smithsonian.''

Building the African American History Museum

Bunch also reflected on the creation of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, saying the project reshaped his understanding of what such an institution could accomplish. 'I realised that this was an opportunity not to build an African American museum like I would've done it 40 years ago, but to basically say, 'This is a story of a community, but it's also the story of a nation,'' he said.

A nationwide effort to collect family heirlooms and artefacts proved unexpectedly powerful. The project gathered around 40,000 objects, with roughly 70 per cent sourced from 'basements, trunks and attics of people's homes.' Bunch described the responsibility that came with that trust: 'You're not building a museum. You're holding people's culture, people's hands, people's hopes in your hands.'

The Smithsonian as Democratic Glue

Addressing America's deepening political divisions, Bunch said museums have a distinct civic role in cultivating tolerance for complexity. 'I think the Smithsonian, in some ways, is the glue that helps hold a nation together,' he said. 'The Smithsonian gives you ambiguity. It helps you understand complexity, nuance, subtlety, debate.'

He added that fostering comfort with differing historical interpretations could itself reinforce democracy: 'If you could help people feel comfortable with ambiguity, then you could help a nation move forward.'

Founded in 1846, the Smithsonian Institution is the world's largest museum, education, and research complex, comprising 21 museums, the National Zoo, and numerous research centres, preserving millions of artefacts documenting American history, science, culture, and innovation. As the nation's semiquincentennial celebrations continue, Bunch's remarks signal an ongoing national reckoning with what American identity truly means.