He announced the decision in a news release, describing it as one made “with very mixed emotions and heartfelt gratitude.” The move follows a contentious period in which the Trump administration sought to reshape how Smithsonian museums and other cultural institutions present U.S. history. The departure comes two months after a White House report labeled Smithsonian leaders—particularly those at the National Museum of American History—as radical activists who could not be trusted. That report, from the White House Domestic Policy Council, criticized the museum’s leadership for failing to present history “in a way that is inspiring, unifying, and worthy of our great republic.” Anthea M. Hartig, the museum’s first female director, came under particular scrutiny from Trump and other Republicans over the summer as a result. The Administration's push to rewrite history particularly targeted minority groups such as African Americans, Hispanics and women. Bunch became the secretary o...
The women of Richmond, VA understood something fundamental about affordability more than 160 years ago -- a living wage is essential to survival. Labor Day is often associated with the modern American workplace—paychecks, unions, working conditions, the eight-hour workday and workers' rights. But the struggle for economic dignity has a much longer history. Before women had the right to vote, before modern labor laws and before the language of equal pay became part of the national conversation, working women in Richmond, Virginia, took to the streets because their labor was no longer enough to feed their families. It was April 1863, during the Civil War. Richmond was the Confederate capital, and the war had transformed the city into a major center of military manufacturing. Women were working in Confederate government offices, factories and the Confederate ordnance laboratory, making ammunition and other supplies needed for the war. Many had entered the wor...