President Donald Trump has signed an executive order on the Smithsonian Institution that targets funding to programs that contain what he calls “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology.”

I teach history in Connecticut, but I grew up in Oklahoma and Kansas, where my interest in the subject was sparked by visits to local museums.

Trump’s order casts a long shadow over the Smithsonian, which, while not a federal agency, is a trust instrumentality of the U.S. government and operates under the guidance of a Board of Regents