House Panel Probes Smithsonian-Linked Museum Over 9/11 Exhibit on 2,977 Deaths
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Aug 25
House Panel Probes Smithsonian-Linked Museum Over 9/11 Exhibit on 2,977 Deaths
1 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 25
Summary
House Oversight scrutiny widened to the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, a Smithsonian affiliate whose 9/11 exhibit emphasizes discrimination against Arab Americans more than the 2,977 people killed in the attacks.
Museum placards say Arab Americans "suffered two-fold" after Sept. 11 and criticize detentions and deportations; a Justice Department watchdog found some post-attack detainees were treated harshly, though 762 noncitizens were held in the FBI terrorism probe.
Fox News Digital also found annual 9/11 anniversary programming centered on prejudice and law-enforcement profiling, while a Sept. 10 screening is set for a film portraying Hamas' Oct. 7 attack within a broader Palestinian "struggle."
The museum has received more than $500,000 from the National Endowment for the Humanities, a $385,000 HUD grant in 2013, additional HUD money from 2017 to 2019, and at least $50,000 from the State Department.
That review lands as Republicans and the White House press the Smithsonian over alleged anti-American bias and threaten funding cuts unless federally linked museums change how they present U.S. history.
As the 25th anniversary approaches, does focusing on post-attack discrimination in cultural exhibits detract from memorializing the lives lost on September 11?
How should publicly funded museums balance honoring tragedy victims with documenting the subsequent societal impacts on minority communities?