Left-wing ProPublica attacked the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) for encouraging grant applications for projects that foster appreciation of America “through uplifting and positive narratives.”
An application to the IMLS, which is the largest federal funder in the cultural arts space, for a grant does not guarantee approval, but the Biden administration’s emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) criteria has been removed, which has opened the door for organizations that did not previously participate because of those standards.
The IMLS under Trump is encouraging grant applications for projects that foster “a greater appreciation” of America “through uplifting and positive narratives of our shared American experience,” according to a cover letter from the institute.
It also encourages applicants to consider Trump’s executive order “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” which cites “a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation’s history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth” over the last ten years.
The cover letter notes that IMLS also welcomes projects that “Preserve America’s history and make its museums the best in the world, fittingly commemorating the 250th anniversary of American Independence.” That portion of the cover letter suggests applicants review Trump’s executive order “Making Federal Architecture Beautiful Again.”
ProPublica, which has received funding from George Soros’s Open Society Foundations, published an article last week calling the encouragement of funding applications for projects featuring uplifting narratives a deviation from “apolitical” guidelines. The piece featured sources who are highly critical of the IMLS’s decision to accept grant applications of this nature.
“The Institute of Museum and Library Services said it welcomes grant applications that foster an appreciation for the country ‘through uplifting and positive narratives,’ a stark departure from previously apolitical guidelines,” ProPublica wrote in a post on X promoting the article.
Former IMLS Director Crosby Kemper III told ProPublica, “It’s clear the administration wants a whitewashed story, if you’ll pardon the pun there. And that’s wrong.”
Giovanna Urist, a senior program officer at IMLS during the Biden administration, called the guidelines “chilling,” while Kemper dubbed them “horrific,” according to ProPublica.
IMLS Chief Strategist Rick Manning told Breitbart News that the institute is working to refocus museums and libraries on their fundamental goal of serving the public and that some on the left want the institute to push “historical revisionism.”
“Under President Trump’s leadership, IMLS and all of America’s cultural institutions are being wholly revitalized,” Manning told Breitbart News. “We are working to refocus museums and libraries on their core missions of serving the American public, promoting learning among all generations, and preserving our history and culture for the benefit of generations present and to come.”
“In doing so, it is our mission to promote a comprehensive view of American history, which on the balance is a story to be immensely proud of and worthy of celebration, especially in our 250th year,” he added. “Some people on the left would rather we promote historical revisionism and continue a corrosive and unhealthy fixation on the worst chapters in our history, and are unhappy that we aren’t doing that.”
One example of a 2025 grant IMLS awarded was to Freedom 250 for the production of six Freedom Truck mobile museums, which will travel around the country focusing on the story of America’s independence. The trucks include content for Americans of all ages, focused on how the 13 colonies attained sovereignty from Great Britain in 1776.
“For 250 years, the United States has stood as a beacon of freedom, opportunity, and hope — a nation forged by courage and driven by an unbreakable spirit. Freedom250 honors that extraordinary legacy while looking ahead to the next 250 years of American leadership and possibility,” Freedom 250 spokeswoman Rachel Reisner said in a statement to Breitbart News.
“Focused on signature events and initiatives, Freedom250 is sparking a unifying movement across all 50 states that celebrates the American spirit and showcases our nation at its best. As we commemorate this historic milestone, we recommit to the ideals that define us and move forward with confidence that America’s greatest days are still to come,” she added.
Keith Sonderling highlighted the left’s efforts to revise America’s history in an op-ed earlier this month touting the launch of the Freedom Trucks.
“Recent years have sadly seen libraries and museums distracted from their important mission. Instead of telling the great American story, many cultural institutions have been hijacked by advocates of divisive social theories,” he wrote.
“Under the previous administration, the Institute of Museum and Library Services supported projects that viewed American history through a distorted lens, turning the less fortunate parts of American history into the entirety of the story itself,” he added.
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