Public commenter urges protection of African American Museum and Smithsonian

A public commenter told a committee hearing that efforts to "do away with the African American Museum and all of the Smithsonian" would be unacceptable and vowed community resistance.

The commenter, who identified himself in the remarks as a Black man who "grew up in segregation," cited personal experiences — being barred from certain places, drinking from a water fountain labeled "colored," and seeing his parents limited to basic day work — to argue that the museum preserves "too sacred" a history to be erased. "We will not let you destroy that museum. That history is too sacred, and it will not be erased," he said.

The remarks were delivered directly to the chair, closing with "I yield back, mister chairman," and no formal action or response is recorded in the provided transcript. The comment framed the museum’s preservation as a moral imperative tied to lived experience of segregation and as a collective responsibility to honor unnamed predecessors and ancestors.

No bills, motions, or staff reports are recorded in the transcript excerpt provided; the segment consists solely of the public commenter’s testimony.