Smithsonian Director Pressed on Mickey Mouse Racism Claims
Smithsonian National Museum of American History Director Anthea Hartig faced pointed questioning from House Republicans Tuesday over exhibits and educational materials they said reflected a broader ideological approach.
The hearing covered several topics, including sexually explicit imagery, references to bondage and a display connecting Mickey Mouse to the history of racism.
Texas Rep. Brandon Gill focused much of his questioning on the famous Disney character. About halfway through his five-minute questioning period, Gill asked, “Is Mickey Mouse racist?”
Hartig replied, “Mickey Mouse is not racist.”
Gill then referred to a Smithsonian exhibit about Steamboat Willie, the original Mickey Mouse character. The exhibit described the character as representing “vestiges of long-standing traditions of blackface minstrelsy’.”
“Would you describe that as racist?” Gill asked.
Hartig began discussing Mickey Mouse’s “historical trajectory” before the exchange briefly turned into crosstalk. She later said, “[He’s] rooted in minstrelsy.” When Gill asked whether those alleged racial overtones were “problematic,” Hartig said it was not her role to make that determination.
Gill also questioned Hartig about the MASS Action Toolkit, a mid-2010s collection of materials for museums. The toolkit references the 2014 police shooting in Ferguson, Missouri, and the protests that followed.
Gill asked Hartig whether it was important for museum officials to be “polite.” He then cited portions of the toolkit that discuss politeness and “objectivity” as characteristics associated with White supremacy culture.
“Can you help me square why your organization says that being polite is part of being a White supremacist?” Gill asked.
Hartig said she could not immediately recall the passage. She agreed that objectivity was important, but Gill pointed to the toolkit’s discussion of objectivity as well.
A 2017 version of the toolkit available online stated, “Jones and Okun also list objectivity as a characteristic of a White supremacy culture. This encompasses repressing emotions in decision-making or group processes, thinking in a linear fashion, impatience with those who do not exhibit linear thinking or with thinking that does not appear logical.”
The document continued, “Museum staff have never been objective, but because dominant norms typically coincide with the worldview of the vast majority of museum staff, it has appeared to be objective to the dominant culture. Those with worldviews outside of the dominant culture are hyperaware of the fallacy in this pretense of museum objectivity,”
When Gill asked whether that language concerned her, Hartig responded, “It’s not our toolkit.” Gill countered that the Smithsonian had promoted the toolkit for years.
The hearing placed renewed attention on how federally supported museums present controversial subjects, especially when educational materials use broad cultural or political frameworks. Republicans said the questioning was necessary to examine whether Smithsonian exhibits are presenting history fairly or applying modern ideological labels to familiar figures and institutions.