When They Erase Our History, We Rise Understanding Trump's Executive Order and the Vital Role of the Clarke Enhanced History Project

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When They Erase Our History, We Rise​

Understanding Trump's Executive Order and the Vital Role of the Clarke Enhanced History Project​

Anthony Browder May 7

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Thanks for reading From The Browder File! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.
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The Great Erasure is happening right before our eyes.​

The executive order signed on March 27th has begun a systematic attack on the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
This is not random. This is calculated.

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Dissecting the Executive Order: A Blueprint for Historical Erasure​

Trump's March 27th executive order, titled "RESTORING TRUTH AND SANITY TO AMERICAN HISTORY," represents one of the most direct governmental attempts to control historical narrative in recent memory.

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Let's examine what the order actually says:

"Over the past decade, Americans have witnessed a concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation's history, replacing objective facts with a distorted narrative driven by ideology rather than truth."​

This opening statement establishes a dangerous premise: that there exists some singular, "objective" version of American history that has been "distorted" by ideology.
But who determines what's "objective"?
The order specifically targets the National Museum of African American History and Culture, claiming it has:

"...proclaimed that 'hard work,' 'individualism,' and 'the nuclear family' are aspects of 'White culture.'"​

This cherry-picked example attempts to discredit the museum's scholarly work by suggesting it's anti-American rather than addressing the complex nuances of how cultural values have been historically framed along racial lines.
The most concerning part comes in Section 2, where the Vice President is directed to:

"...remove improper ideology from such properties, and shall recommend to the President any additional actions necessary to fully effectuate such policies."​

"Improper ideology" is never defined, creating a dangerously vague mandate for censorship.

The Attack Has Begun​

The implementation of this order has been swift and targeted:

• Civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Amos Brown's Bible and rare copy of "History of the Negro Race in America, 1618-1880" has been returned to the owner
• Kevin Young, the museum's director has stepped down

As reported in the media, museum visitors are rushing to see exhibits before they disappear. Elizabeth Hays, a white woman from North Carolina, made a five-hour drive to Washington D.C. after hearing about the executive order. "I was worried that if I waited any longer, I might encounter a sanitized version of the museum, or no museum at all," she told The Atlantic.

The Science of Manufactured Ignorance​

What we're witnessing is a textbook example of agnotology – the cultural production of ignorance.

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As Robert Proctor explains in Agnotology: The Making and Unmaking of Ignorance:

"Ignorance is often not merely the absence of knowledge but an outcome of cultural and political struggle... Ignorance can be made, maintained, and manipulated by means of certain arts and sciences."​

The executive order creates ignorance through two distinct mechanisms:

1. Reframing factual history as "improper ideology"
2. Replacing museum leadership with ideologically aligned officials

This is exactly what Proctor describes when he writes:

"…ignorance should not be viewed as a simple omission or gap, but rather as an active production. Ignorance can be an actively engineered part of a deliberate plan.”​

Why the Clarke Enhanced History Project Is Now Essential​

The Clarke Enhanced History Project (CEHP) was already important.
Now it's essential.

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Our May 23rd webinar (7:00-9:00 PM) will serve as a direct counter to this manufactured ignorance by focusing on three key areas:

1. The History of Knowledge Production​

We'll examine how history has been written, by whom, and for what purpose.
This directly challenges Section 1 of Trump's executive order, which claims there is a "concerted and widespread effort to rewrite our Nation's history."
The truth is the opposite – African history has been systematically erased for centuries, and what we're seeing at the NMAAHC is simply the latest iteration.

2. Agnotology and the Role of Oligarchs​

We'll explore how wealthy and powerful interests shape public consciousness by controlling what we know and don't know.
This directly relates to Section 2(d) of the executive order, which calls for the appointment of "citizen members to the Smithsonian Board of Regents committed to advancing the policy of this order."

3. Afrophobia and Anti-African Sentiments​

The order's language about removing "improper ideology" is a thinly veiled expression of what scholars call Afrophobia – an irrational fear of African-centered perspectives.
We'll examine how this manifests in current attempts to control historical narratives.

The CEHP as Direct Resistance​

The Clarke Enhanced History Project does more than just provide information – it serves as active resistance against historical erasure in several ways:

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1. Documentation of Excellence​

By highlighting 8,000 years of African excellence and success, the CEHP preserves knowledge that the executive order seeks to diminish.

2. Development of Ancestral Intelligence​

Unlike static museum exhibits, Ancestral Intelligence is knowledge that lives within communities and cannot be removed by executive order.
The CEHP builds this intelligence by connecting people to their cultural inheritance.

3. Creation of Autonomous Knowledge Spaces​

As more government-controlled historical spaces come under attack, independent educational initiatives like the CEHP become critical alternative spaces for learning and preservation.

The Historic Pattern: Erasure Follows Progress​

The timing of this executive order follows a historic pattern that Dr. Clarke documented throughout his career.
When Black communities begin to make progress, there is an organized backlash that includes attempts to erase historical memory.
Consider the parallels:

• The destruction of Black Wall Street in Tulsa followed Black economic success
• The dismantling of Reconstruction followed Black political representation
• Book banning and curriculum restrictions followed the civil rights movement
• And now, executive orders against the National Museum ofAfrican American History and Culture follow unprecedented national reckoning with racial history

But attempts to erase history often backfire by creating greater hunger for that knowledge.
The CEHP webinars harness this hunger by providing not just historical information but a blueprint for resistance through knowledge.

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Our goal is to produce a primer on African and African American history to equip you with the cultural inheritance and Ancestral Intelligence needed to strengthen yourself, your household, and your community against erasure.

A Call to Action​

The success of the Clarke Enhanced History Project comes at a steep price, and I knew this day was coming.
Unfortunately, interest in our history is increasing for all the wrong reasons – as a response to erasure rather than a celebration of heritage.
The current administration's attempt to erase African American history will ultimately fail because the desire to know one's history cannot be suppressed indefinitely.
Join us on May 23rd for the Why History Matters webinar, as we light the torch of knowledge in response to the darkness of erasure.
Because when they erase our history, we rise.
Thanks for reading
Anthony T. Browder

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Ps.
Registration is now open for the May 23rd webinar here and the June 13 webinar here
Why History Matters: An Examination of Dr. Clarke’s Search for the History of Black People - May 23 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
If the history of African people were a book of 1000 pages, the story of our enslavement would begin on page 996, and would only be 2 pages long.
This webinar examines the first 995 pages of African History and delves into the career of Dr. Clarke, the scholars who shaped his love for Black history, and their role in the Black Studies Movement.
This webinar provides historical context for the efforts, currently underway, to erase Black History. Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regis...
The Restoration of Black Consciousness: Application of Black History During Times of Erasure. June 13 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
This webinar explores the methodology for teaching Black History in your homes and community.
It offers a primer on how to study Black History; how to teach it to children, youth and adults; and the benefits of integrating history and culture into your life.
It provides instruction on how to seek the truth, study the truth and become truth.
It echoes the sentiments of Carter G. Woodson who stated:
“Truth comes to us from the past, then like gold, washed down from the mountains.”
It is a practical way of assuring that Black history will NEVER be erased.
Zoom Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regis...

Thanks for reading From The Browder File! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work.​

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