Due to President Donald Trump’s anti-diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) push, federal funding has been pulled from Louisiana’s Whitney Plantation, a former plantation-turned-museum that teaches the truth about slavery, according to The Guardian.
The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), which provides resources and support to libraries, archives, and museums across the nation, terminated two grants for Black history and culture after Trump cut federal funding targeting arts and cultural institutions, in addition to gutting state and federal initiatives supporting DEI.
Luckily, the plantation already received one of the grants in early 2025; however, the other, aimed at funding an exhibit on how enslaved people often showed resistance on plantations, was set to be completed in June and was due to open in January 2026.
Without the funding, the Whitney risks losing roughly $55,000. The future of the exhibit is up in the air.
Whitney received a letter dated April 8, stating that the grant it had already partially received would be withdrawn. Executive Director Dr. Ashley Rogers said receiving the letter was disappointing but not a shock.
“To spend nearly three years on a project that, at the very end, what we’re waiting for is the funds to complete design and fabrication, that means there wouldn’t be an exhibit essentially. I was not surprised to receive communication that it was terminated because I’ve been reading the news and seeing what’s been happening,” Rogers said, according to WWLTV.
“I think IMLS is an organization that some people have wanted to shut down for some years because the idea is that it doesn’t provide essential services, but it really provides crucial funding for museums and libraries all over the country in small communities. So obviously, we were very disappointed in this. It is our perspective that IMLS does fantastic work for people all over the country.”
The IMLS was a target from the start for Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as the president used an executive order to call for the agency to be “eliminated to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law” within seven days. The order resulted in library systems and museums nationwide reporting concerns about receiving promised grants.
“It’s extremely dangerous to be targeting history and knowledge about African American history and culture,” Rogers said. “That’s a slippery slope. We can look at the past and see that changing our narratives about our shared stories never leads to anything positive. It’s really important to tell those stories, and it’s especially important now because there’s a real concerted effort to change our national narrative of American history.”
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