Lonnie G. Bunch III

“We are here speaking in a place as an African American where Fredrick Douglass could not speak, but we are a different institution, we've made great changes and continue to do so. Nothing is impossible.”

Lonnie G. Bunch III · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-20

Bunch spoke these words at his installation ceremony as Secretary, becoming the first African American and first historian in the role.

“I just love this museum so much,”

Lonnie G. Bunch III · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-20

Bunch expressed his affection for the National Air and Space Museum while walking through it.

“Could they be told more expansively? Sure. But I think the reality of saying that they aren't there, that there's not the love – more importantly, not the acknowledgment of the special nature of the Founding Fathers – is wrong.”

Lonnie G. Bunch III · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-20

Bunch acknowledged founding fathers stories could be told more expansively but said denying their presence or acknowledgment is wrong.

“Because that is a museum that says, 'Here is a story of us all. Here is a people's journey, but a nation's story.'”

Lonnie G. Bunch III · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-20

Bunch described the National Museum of African American History and Culture as telling both a people's journey and a nation's story.

“And it's here in the Smithsonian, so that forever, people are going to be able to say, 'Oh, my goodness,' and really sort of begin to understand the creativity and the joy that is incumbent in the American spirit.”

Lonnie G. Bunch III · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-20

Bunch described how the Wright Brothers' flyer at the Smithsonian helps visitors understand American creativity and joy.

“I kept thinking about Frederick Douglass,”

Lonnie G. Bunch III · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-20

Bunch reflected on his installation ceremony and his thoughts about Frederick Douglass.

“I think he probably saw passion. I cared so much about history. I didn't understand what I was going to do, but I loved it.”

Lonnie G. Bunch III · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-20

Bunch reflected on what former Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins may have seen in him when hiring him as a young historian.

“The Smithsonian is America's collective memory,”

Lonnie G. Bunch III · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-20

Bunch described the Smithsonian as America's collective memory ahead of his retirement at the end of the year.

“It's kind of like, you know, you go to the doctor, you get your physical. And suddenly, you say, 'Only tell me half about what happened,' right? So, you only know a little bit about who you are – you're incomplete.”

Lonnie G. Bunch III · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-20

Bunch compared avoiding difficult historical stories to getting only half the results from a doctor's physical exam.

“Anybody that knows me personally knows my love of this nation. I'm the son of somebody who was a World War II veteran. I can remember every Memorial Day going to parades. So, I come at it from a world of, let us love our nation, but let us not be afraid to understand the totality of who we are. I believe very strongly that you can run from history, but you can't hide.”

Lonnie G. Bunch III · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-20

Bunch defended his patriotism as the son of a World War II veteran and argued Americans should not be afraid to understand the totality of their history.

“It needs to be somebody who cares about the history of the institution; needs to be somebody who understands the political world we're dealing in; and needs to be somebody who is courageous enough, when all else fails, to blame me”

Lonnie G. Bunch III · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-20

Bunch suggested his successor should care about the institution's history, understand the political world, and be courageous enough to blame him when needed.

“There's no doubt that the most important thing I've ever done in my career was be part of building the National Museum of African American History and Culture, no doubt about it,”

Lonnie G. Bunch III · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-20

Bunch said building the National Museum of African American History and Culture was the most important thing he had done in his career.

“Those stories are there,”

Lonnie G. Bunch III · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-20

Bunch pushed back on the report's allegation that the museum hasn't done enough to honor the founding fathers.

“because the people who work at the Smithsonian love their country in profound ways. You know, the challenge is that often people look for simple answers to complex questions.”

Lonnie G. Bunch III · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-20

Bunch said Smithsonian workers love their country profoundly and that people often look for simple answers to complex questions.

“I was in North Carolina, Kitty Hawk, and went to see the replica, and I wanted to say, 'We got the real one!'”

Lonnie G. Bunch III · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-20

Bunch recounted visiting the Wright Brothers' flyer replica in Kitty Hawk and wanting to boast that the Smithsonian had the original.

“I can't even comment on that,”

Lonnie G. Bunch III · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-20

Bunch responded to the White House report's claim that Smithsonian staff don't want visitors to love their country.

“No, not really. And in fact, the challenges that we've experienced are one of the reasons I stayed so long. There's a part of me that says I should stay forever to protect the Smithsonian, but also to protect history, as well as sort of dealing with mischaracterizations that the Smithsonian is this place run by left-wing radicals who want to destroy America.”

Lonnie G. Bunch III · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-20

Bunch denied that White House pressures drove his retirement decision, saying the challenges were one reason he stayed so long.

“and you don't want to be a nation that forgets.”

Lonnie G. Bunch III · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-20

Bunch warned that a nation should not forget its own history, describing the Smithsonian as America's collective memory.

“and I really wanted to say, 'He's now speaking.' I just wanted to signal that I will never be afraid of telling truthful stories, no matter how hard or how painful they are.”

Lonnie G. Bunch III · said date not stated · reported 2026-09-20

Bunch explained he wanted to signal that he would never be afraid to tell truthful stories, no matter how painful.