Lonnie Bunch to retire as Smithsonian Institution Secretary

Lonnie G. Bunch III, the first African American and first historian to serve as Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, has announced his retirement effective at the end of the year. Bunch has been with the institution for nearly 38 years, including 14 years as the founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

The announcement follows a period of intense friction between the Smithsonian and the Trump administration. Federal officials, including Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, recently expressed that they “cannot in good conscience continue to support” the institution under its current leadership. The administration has reportedly sought to reshape how the museum system presents American history, specifically targeting the presentation of slavery and the Black freedom struggle through content reviews and threats to federal funding.

While Bunch stated to the New York Times that the decision was his own, noting “Now’s the time,” the move occurs amidst what museum associations have described as unprecedented political interference regarding the institution's interpretive ideology.