Thread by @RepAdamSmith

For far too long, military assets have borne names that commemorate the Confederate States of America.

These names, symbols, displays, monuments, and paraphernalia glorify traitors who took up arms against their country - they dishonor our military and must be changed. (1/8)

Thanks to a provision in the #FY21NDAA, the @DeptofDefense must form a Commission to rename assets that honor the Confederate States of America on U.S. military property.

As Chair of the @HASCDemocrats, I am proud to appoint Mr. Lonnie G. Bunch III to this Commission. (2/8)

Mr. Bunch currently serves as the 14th Secretary of the @smithsonian, where he oversees 19 museums, 21 libraries, the National Zoo, numerous research centers, and several education units and centers. (3/8)

Mr. Bunch previously served as director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, a job he started in 2005 with one staff member, no collections, no funding and no site for a museum. (4/8)

Thanks to Mr. Bunch's vision, optimism, and determination, the museum has welcomed more than 6 million visitors since it opened in September 2016 and compiled a collection of 40,000 objects that are housed in the first “green building” on the National Mall. (5/8)

Mr. Bunch is also a widely published author, having written on topics ranging from the black military experience, the American presidency and all-black towns in the American West to diversity in museum management and the impact of funding and politics on American museums. (6/8)

In addition to his writing, Mr. Bunch has held numerous teaching positions at universities across the country, including American University in Washington, D.C., the University of Massachusetts in Dartmouth and George Washington University in Washington, D.C. (7/8)

Mr. Bunch will provide the Commission with both broad and deep knowledge of the African American experience, and I am grateful that he is willing to contribute to the Commission's important work. (8/8)
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