Smithsonian Director Faces Activism Questions

Smithsonian Director Dr. Anthea Hartig is under fresh scrutiny after a historian accused her of bringing an activist, Marxist-influenced approach to the nation’s museum system. The dispute centers on whether Hartig has led as an objective historian or as a political advocate, a question that goes to the heart of how the Smithsonian presents American history.

Historian Dr. Jody Edward Ginn said Hartig’s career shows a pattern of pushing organizations toward activism. He pointed to her time as president of the Organization of American Historians and her leadership at the California Historical Society, arguing that her work has not been neutral scholarship. Ginn said Hartig has long been known for advancing these views and described her as an advocate rather than a traditional historian. He also said she has presented herself as the final authority on historical questions, a stance he rejected.

One of Ginn’s main examples is Hartig’s 1995 article, In a World He Has Created, published by the California Historical Society. In that piece, Hartig used the ideas of Karl Marx to examine California’s citrus industry and argued that a wealthy ruling class shaped the Southern California landscape to protect class power. She also wrote about photographs of nearby estates and described them as the kind of promotional material that reflected elitist, racist and sexist attitudes of the era. Ginn said the article reads less like a historical study and more like a political argument built around a Marxist point of view.

Hartig later spent seven years as executive director of the California Historical Society, beginning in 2011. Ginn said that experience, along with her writings, shows a consistent pattern in how she has approached historical institutions. He argued that her leadership style has aimed to reshape those organizations around an activist mission rather than a neutral educational one.