How America Tells Its Story: A Conversation with Lonnie Bunch
Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch and The HistoryMakers Founder and President Julieanna Richardson reflect on how America’s history continues to shape the nation at 250.
About This Event
As the United States marks its 250th anniversary, the nation finds itself grappling with fundamental questions about its identity, history, and future. How do we tell the story of America and its ideals and contradictions? What does it mean to reckon with the past while charting a path forward? Join Lonnie Bunch, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution and founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture, in conversation with The HistoryMakers Founder and President Julieanna Richardson, as he reflects on American history, national memory, and what this milestone reveals about who we are and where we're headed.
About the Speakers
Secretary, Smithsonian Institution
Lonnie G. Bunch III is the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian. As Secretary, he oversees 21 museums, 21 libraries, the National Zoo, numerous research centers, and several education units and centers. Previously, Bunch was the founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture.
Founder & President, The HistoryMakers
Julieanna L. Richardson is the founder and president of The HistoryMakers, the largest effort to record the African American experience since the WPA Slave Narratives of the 1930s. Previously, she worked as a corporate lawyer at the Chicago law firm of Jenner & Block and served as the cable administrator for the City of Chicago Office of Cable Communications.
America at 250: The Arc of Global Influence
This content is part of the Council’s America at 250 initiative, a series of high-level dialogues, expert perspectives, public and private programs, and a signature conference focused on the critical questions that will define America’s future.