Visitors at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, found a noose on Wednesday afternoon, 31 May, in the permanent exhibition Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: Era of Segregation 1876-68, the New York Times reports. It had been placed on the floor in front of the display Democracy Abroad, Injustice at Home, which deals with African American ambivalence towards the First World War—meant to “make the world safe for democracy”—when they did not have freedom in their home country.
The display includes a Croix de Guerre medal given to members of the all-black 369 Infantry Regiment by the French government, since they served under the French Army due to racism in the US armed forces. When these troops returned to the US, they were more resolved to fight against racism. In the struggling post-war economy, white Americans resented this, and race riots broke out in cities across the US in 1919. The display references the terrorism of black communities by white Americans through the 1920s—including destruction of communities and slaughter of African Americans—and the fact that the Ku Klux Klan resurged in this decade.
The incident was reported to the United States Park Police and the exhibition was closed for around three hours.
The Smithsonian museum complex had already been targeted last weekend with this symbol of racism and murder, when a noose was left on a tree outside of the Hirshhorn Museum on Saturday, 27 May.
“The Smithsonian family stands together in condemning this act of hatred and intolerance, especially repugnant in a museum that affirms and celebrates the American values of inclusion and diversity,” David J. Skorton, the secretary of the Smithsonian, reportedly wrote in an email to the institution’s staff, according to the Times.
No suspects have yet been identified, but the Park Police and the Smithsonian Institution are working together to investigate both incidents.
