DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — The historic Jackson Home, where Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights leaders organized marches for Black voting rights in the Deep South, has been relocated from Alabama to a museum in Dearborn, Michigan. This intricate operation involved carefully dismantling and transporting the home more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) to its new location at The Henry Ford.

The relocation of the Jackson Home coincides with a broader cultural and political climate in the U.S., particularly under the Trump administration, which has sought to erase race-centered ideologies from educational and institutional narratives. The political agenda has involved minimizing discussions around diversity, equity, and inclusion, pressuring various establishments, including the Smithsonian Institution, to align with this vision.

Patricia Mooradian, the CEO of The Henry Ford, emphasized that the museum is committed to factual public history and has no political agenda. She stated, “The Henry Ford’s work is focusing on good, factual public history,” reflecting a dedication to preserving American heritage amidst ongoing ideological conflicts.

The Jackson Home, a 3,000-square-foot (280-square-meter) bungalow located in Selma, Alabama, was a strategic hub for organizing peaceful marches from Selma to Montgomery, pivotal actions that contributed to the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Jawana Jackson, a member of the Jackson family, expressed her belief that the house “belonged to the world,” emphasizing its historical significance as a site of crucial civil rights activities.

The home was carefully disassembled and reconstructed at Greenfield Village, part of The Henry Ford complex, where archivists are digitizing and cataloging approximately 6,000 artifacts associated with the civil rights movement. These items document the struggle for equal rights in the face of significant opposition, including violent backlash from segregationists and law enforcement.

During his presidency, Donald Trump has made clear his opposition to what he refers to as “woke” ideologies, instituting measures aimed at removing references to race, gender, and sexual divisions from national discourse and institutions. This approach has included efforts to reshape historical narratives, with recent actions at the Smithsonian raising concerns among historians and cultural leaders.

In a striking example, the Smithsonian Institution recently modified an exhibit to exclude references to Trump’s impeachments, further highlighting the administration's attempts to control historical representation. The Smithsonian and its affiliated museums, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture, are pivotal in preserving American history, yet they have faced pressure to conform to the current political agenda.

Mooradian expressed concern about the impact of such political directives, stating, “I think museums are such an important part of our culture and our heritage,” stressing the importance of truthful historical representation rather than opinion-driven narratives. The enforcement of this political perspective has been met with resistance from various civil rights activists, including the Rev. Amos Brown, who recently reported that items he loaned to the African American museum were being removed, a decision he attributed to the current political climate.

Amidst these developments, several other museums across the country, including the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum, continue to exhibit artifacts that tell the painful history of the civil rights struggle. The director of preservation at the Mississippi museum stated the importance of confronting and documenting historical pain, emphasizing that these narratives are essential to understanding the broader context of American history.

The Jackson Home's relocation symbolizes not only the importance of preserving civil rights history but also the ongoing struggle against contemporary attempts to whitewash American heritage. As the political landscape shifts, the role of museums and cultural institutions becomes increasingly vital in upholding an accurate representation of the nation's past.