Connecting the World with Words
From the National Book Festival Presents series—Dr. Carla Hayden, Librarian of Congress, and Lonnie Bunch, Smithsonian Institution Secretary, discuss the future of their institutions.
In this 30-minute conversation, they talk about keeping their organizations accessible and relevant during a period of global pandemic coupled with nationwide protests against injustice and inequality.
Bunch is the author of A Fool’s Errand: Creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the Era of Bush, Obama, and Trump.
“What I want to hear from museums in their vision statements is about the greater good and that greater good is more than serving audiences, it’s about helping a country find truth, find insight, find nuance, and in many ways, what I hope that cultural institutions like this can do is that they’re better suited than most to define reality and to give hope.”
—