At a US House hearing, Heritage Foundation analyst Mike Gonzalez criticised the Smithsonian’s involvement in a diversity, equity and inclusion training guide, calling it “revolting”. He argued that the National Museum of American History had continued promoting ideas similar to those in a previously withdrawn Smithsonian chart about “whiteness”, raising questions about political activism at a taxpayer-funded institution.

The guide, titled “Museums as Sites for Social Action” (MASS), was said to describe objectivity, individualism and perfectionism among concepts linked to dominant cultural norms. The Smithsonian had earlier apologised for the controversial “whiteness” chart, but the hearing focused on whether its museums’ subsequent training and programming reflected the same approach.