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The Smithsonian is collecting items from Capitol Siege to ‘help future generations remember’ | Planet Attractions
     

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The Smithsonian is collecting items from Capitol Siege to ‘help future generations remember’

Curators are focusing their acquisition efforts on the National Mall but hope to work with the Capitol Building




The siege was led by a mob of Trump supporters   Credit: Reuters

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, has begun collecting protest signs and other paraphernalia from the January 6 US Capitol riots and its preceding protests.

Frank Blazich, a curator from the museum’s Division of Political and Military History, was sent to the National Mall just a day after the siege to collect posters, banners and other objects used in the attempted coup.

“Digging through the trash on the National Mall is one way to spend a Thursday morning, with the added bonus of the pandemic. Still, what some call trash, I call history,” Blazich said on Twitter.

Objects collected so far include signs reading: “Off with their heads - stop the steal” and “Trump won, swamp stole”.

Currently, the museum’s efforts are focused solely on the National Mall, while the Capitol Building evaluates the damage caused by the pro-Trump rioters and undertakes its own cleanup efforts. Museum officials are hopeful, however, that they will be able to work with management at the Capitol Building to acquire items left behind by the mob.

A federal investigation has also been launched, meaning that many items will have already been claimed as evidence.

According to a statement from Anthea M. Hartig, director of the National Museum of American History, the collection will aim to “help future generations remember and contextualise January 6 and its aftermath.”

“As an institution, we are committed to understanding how Americans make change,” she said.

“This election season has offered remarkable instances of the pain and possibility involved in that process of reckoning with the past and shaping the future.”

Lonnie G. Bunch III, director of The Smithsonian, said: “As a historian, I have always believed in the power of peaceful protest. Demonstrations give us a glimpse of the fragility of our democracy and why the work we do and the stories we tell are so important.”

The Smithsonian has also put out a call out for contributions, asking those with access to materials to send images with a brief description to the museum for possible acquisition.

With the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the fraught political situation in the US, this isn’t the first time in the past year that Smithsonian curators have combed the streets for objects of historical significance.

Most recently, curators took to the streets to collect signs used during the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police.

Other museums have also taken similar action with London’s Science Museum acquiring the vial from the first-ever COVID vaccine administered outside of a trial, while London’s V&A museum put out a call for home-made signage, such as rainbow signs supporting the NHS, made during the COVID-19 pandemic.


Curator Frank Blazich collected signs and posters from the National Mall just a day after the siege - Credit: Frank Blazich


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The Smithsonian is collecting items from Capitol Siege to ‘help future generations remember’ | Planet Attractions
news

The Smithsonian is collecting items from Capitol Siege to ‘help future generations remember’

Curators are focusing their acquisition efforts on the National Mall but hope to work with the Capitol Building




The siege was led by a mob of Trump supporters   Credit: Reuters

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in Washington, DC, has begun collecting protest signs and other paraphernalia from the January 6 US Capitol riots and its preceding protests.

Frank Blazich, a curator from the museum’s Division of Political and Military History, was sent to the National Mall just a day after the siege to collect posters, banners and other objects used in the attempted coup.

“Digging through the trash on the National Mall is one way to spend a Thursday morning, with the added bonus of the pandemic. Still, what some call trash, I call history,” Blazich said on Twitter.

Objects collected so far include signs reading: “Off with their heads - stop the steal” and “Trump won, swamp stole”.

Currently, the museum’s efforts are focused solely on the National Mall, while the Capitol Building evaluates the damage caused by the pro-Trump rioters and undertakes its own cleanup efforts. Museum officials are hopeful, however, that they will be able to work with management at the Capitol Building to acquire items left behind by the mob.

A federal investigation has also been launched, meaning that many items will have already been claimed as evidence.

According to a statement from Anthea M. Hartig, director of the National Museum of American History, the collection will aim to “help future generations remember and contextualise January 6 and its aftermath.”

“As an institution, we are committed to understanding how Americans make change,” she said.

“This election season has offered remarkable instances of the pain and possibility involved in that process of reckoning with the past and shaping the future.”

Lonnie G. Bunch III, director of The Smithsonian, said: “As a historian, I have always believed in the power of peaceful protest. Demonstrations give us a glimpse of the fragility of our democracy and why the work we do and the stories we tell are so important.”

The Smithsonian has also put out a call out for contributions, asking those with access to materials to send images with a brief description to the museum for possible acquisition.

With the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the fraught political situation in the US, this isn’t the first time in the past year that Smithsonian curators have combed the streets for objects of historical significance.

Most recently, curators took to the streets to collect signs used during the Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police.

Other museums have also taken similar action with London’s Science Museum acquiring the vial from the first-ever COVID vaccine administered outside of a trial, while London’s V&A museum put out a call for home-made signage, such as rainbow signs supporting the NHS, made during the COVID-19 pandemic.


Curator Frank Blazich collected signs and posters from the National Mall just a day after the siege - Credit: Frank Blazich


 



© Kazoo 5 Limited 2024