Acclaimed director Ava DuVernay reflected on what the Smithsonian museums mean to Americans as she received a lifetime achievement award on Thursday at the National Museum of American History.
Two months after President Trump signed an executive order targeting the Smithsonian in an effort to eliminate “divisive or anti-American ideology,” the museum honored DuVernay with the Great Americans medal for her contributions to American ideals and ideas.
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WATCH HERE“Let me tell you about the families – Black, white, native, immigrant – who walk through the doors of Smithsonian museums and feel that this country might just make room for them after all. That is not indoctrination. That is belonging. That is education. That is democracy,” DuVernay said on stage.
The director and philanthropist told NBC Washington the significance of the award for her work is an honor.
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SIGN UP “I don’t take that for granted, to be able to say the kinds of stories that I tell about folks that might be seen as on the margins, or some of the untold stories, that that has value and that’s worthy of being celebrated. It means a lot to me,” she said.
DuVernay is the 10th person to receive the medal, joining a list of previous recipients that includes Colin Powell, Tom Brokaw, Cal Ripken Jr., Billie Jean King, Paul Simon and Yo-Yo Ma.
“They’re pathbreakers. They’ve charted new territories for us and what it means to be American, but also who are philanthropists,” museum director Anthea M. Hartig said.
The award ceremony came after Trump signed an executive order that led to concerns over the future of the National Museum of African American History and Culture.
“I made the opening film for it, so when you go nto that museum, you go into a little theater and you see a film that I made,” DuVernay said.
The Smithsonian museums are a vital part of telling the full American story, she said.
“This acknowledgement really put some wind under my sails, especially in this turbulent time, for artists to feel encouraged to raise our voices about what we see, what we believe,” DuVernay said. “And I intend to do that for as long as I can.”
