The Collinsville Historical Museum is an apolitical, not for profit organization, but we believe a recent development must be brought to the public’s attention. In June 2025 Superintendents at National Park Service facilities, including history museums, were ordered to post notices asking visitors to report "any signs or other information that are negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes and other natural features."1
The Museum Board believes this is an attempt to solicit input which may be used to whitewash how American history is being told, failing to acknowledge how the nation has learned from its failures as we have moved forward for nearly 250 years. Historian and documentarian Ken Burns has stated: “Being an American means reckoning with a history fraught with violence and injustice. Ignoring that reality in favor of mythology is not only wrong but also dangerous.”2
Imagine visiting the Old Courthouse in St. Louis, for example, and not seeing any display on the 1857 Dred Scott Decision, which hastened the start of the Civil War.
The Collinsville Historical Museum Board urges you to reach out to your Federal elected representatives and leadership at the U.S. Department of the Interior, which controls the National Park Service. Tell them this great nation’s history does not need to be whitewashed. Allow everyone to learn the hard truths in our history, as we strive to make our nation better.
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1. https://www.npr.org/2025/06/10/nx-s1-5429773/national-park-service-signs (Retrieved 6-30-2025)
2. “Being American Means Reckoning with Our Violent History” in the Washington Post, November 22, 2021.
