Lonnie Bunch
Lonnie Bunch | |
---|---|
![]() Bunch in 2019 | |
14th Secretary of theSmithsonian Institution | |
Assumed office June 16, 2019 | |
Preceded by | David J. Skorton |
Personal details | |
Born | Newark, New Jersey,U.S. | November 18, 1952
Education | Howard University American University(BA,MA,PhD) |
Academic career | |
Discipline | History of the United States African American studies |
Institutions | |
Lonnie G. Bunch III(born November 18, 1952) is an American educator andhistorian.Bunch is the fourteenth secretary of theSmithsonian Institution,the firstAfrican Americanand first historian to serve as head of the Smithsonian. He has spent most of his career as a history museumcuratorand administrator.
Bunch served as the founding director of the Smithsonian'sNational Museum of African American History and Culture(NMAAHC) from 2005 to 2019. He previously served as president and director of theChicago History Museum(Chicago Historical Society) from 2000 to 2005.[1]In the 1980s, he was the first curator at theCalifornia African American Museum,and then a curator at the Smithsonian'sNational Museum of American History,wherein the 1990s, he rose to head curatorial affairs. In 2020, he was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Society.[2]
Early life and education
[edit]Bunch was born inNewark, New Jersey,in 1952[3]to Lonnie Bunch II, a science and chemistry public school teacher, and Montrose Bunch, a third-grade public school teacher,[4]both graduates ofShaw University,one of the oldestHBCUsin the South.[5]He grew up inBelleville,New Jersey, where his family were the onlyAfrican Americansin their neighborhood. His grandfather, a formersharecropper,moved into the area as one of the first black dentists in the region.[6]As a child, he experienced racism from white teenagers in his neighborhood.[6]Bunch credits his childhood experiences with localItalian immigrantsand his reading of biographies as a youth with inspiring him to study history. He wanted to give a voice to those who were "anonymous" or not written about. Reflecting in 2011 on the early exposures, Bunch said: "I was in junior high, and we were reading biographies of historic figures. I remember one onGen. ‘Mad Anthony’ Wayne,and one onClara Barton,andDorothea Dix.I thought, ‘Were there no histories of black people?’ One day, I was going through my grandfather's trunk and I found a book about black soldiers in theFirst World War.I devoured it. "[5]
He graduated fromBelleville High SchoolinBelleville, New Jerseyin 1970.[3]Bunch attendedHoward University[3]and later transferred toAmerican Universityin,Washington, D.C.,where he earned hisB.A.,M.A.,andPh.D.inAmericanandAfrican-American history.[7][3]
Career
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/15/Lonnie_Bunch_13615-171.jpg/220px-Lonnie_Bunch_13615-171.jpg)
Bunch began working at theSmithsonian Institutionwhile completing his master's degree. After graduating, he joined theUniversity of Marylandfaculty as a history professor. In 1983, he became the firstcuratorat theCalifornia African American Museum.[3]He worked at theNational Museum of American Historyfrom 1989 until 1994 as a curator. From 1990 to 2000, he was also a professor in the Museum Studies and History departments at The George Washington University.[8]He was promoted to associate director for curatorial affairs at the museum before leaving in 2000 to become the president of one of the nation's oldest museums in history, theChicago Historical Society(Chicago History Museum), from 2001 to 2005.[9]In Chicago he led a successful capital campaign, and promoted outreach to diverse communities. One noted exhibit,Teen Chicago,focused on teenager life.[10]
In 2005, Bunch was named the director of the Smithsonian Institution'sNational Museum of African American History and Culture.[7]As founding director he designed a program of traveling exhibitions and public events prior to the opening of the museum.[11]
He also served on the Commission for the Preservation of theWhite Houseduring theGeorge W. Bush administration[3]and was reappointed to the Commission by PresidentBarack Obamain 2010.
On May 28, 2019, Bunch was elected secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. He became the first historian and first African American to lead the Smithsonian in its 173-year history, taking on his new role in mid-June 2019[12]On February 12, 2021, Bunch was appointed to the Congressionally-mandatedCommission on the Naming of Items of the Department of Defense that Commemorate the Confederate States of America or Any Person Who Served Voluntarily with the Confederate States of America.[13]He later withdrew from the commission for personal reasons prior to the swearing-in ceremony.[14]
Exhibits and research
[edit]He curated the National Museum of American History's exhibitionThe American Presidency: A Glorious Burden.[5]The exhibition was curated, built, and opened within eight months.[15]
Personal life
[edit]Bunch met his wife Maria Marable in graduate school.[16]They have two daughters.[17]
Awards
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b4/Bunch_and_Conwill_Look_at_NMAAHC_Museum_Site_B.jpg/220px-Bunch_and_Conwill_Look_at_NMAAHC_Museum_Site_B.jpg)
- 2011: Jackie Robinson Society Community Recognition Award[18]
- 2017:American Academy of Arts and Sciences
- 2017: theNAACP'sPresident's Award
- 2018:Phi Beta KappaAward for Distinguished Service to Humanity[19]
- 2019: Honorary degree ofBrown University(LHD)[20]
- 2020:Dan David Prize[21]
- 2022: Golden Plate Award of theAmerican Academy of Achievement[22][23]
- 2023: Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters fromYale University[24]
Bibliography
[edit]- with Laurence P. and Martha Kendall Crouchette Winnaker,Visions Toward Tomorrow, the History of the East Bay Afro-American Community 1852–1977.Oakland: Northern California Center for Afro-American History and Life. 1989.ISBN0-9622334-0-4
- with Spencer R. Crew, Mark G. Hirsch and Harry R. Rubenstein, 2000.The American Presidency, A Glorious Burden.Washington: Smithsonian Institution.ISBN978-1560988359
- with Donna M. Wells, David E. Haberstitch and Deborah Willis, 2009.The Scurlock Studio and Black Washington: Picturing the Promise.Washington: National Museum of African American History and Culture.ISBN978-1588342720
- Call the Lost Dream Back: Essays on History, Race & Museums.Georgia: Big River Books. 2010.ISBN978-1933253176
- with Spencer R. Crew and Clement A. Price, 2014.Slave Culture: A Documentary Collection of the Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers Project.Connecticut: Greenwood.ISBN978-1440800863
- Bunch, Lonnie G. (2019).A Fool's Errand: Creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the age of Bush, Obama, and Trump.Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press.ISBN9781588346681.OCLC1089275852.
Footnotes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^"National Museum of African American History and Culture".Archives.Smithsonian History.Smithsonian Institution.RetrievedMay 8,2012.
- ^"American Philosophical Society welcomes new members".American Philosophical Society. 2020.
- ^abcdef"Lonnie Bunch biography".The History Makers.Education Makers.RetrievedMay 8,2012.
- ^Q&A with Lonnie Bunch.c-span.org(video). July 18, 2006.RetrievedJune 19,2020.
- ^abcdi Ionno, Mark (February 13, 2011)."N.J.'s Lonnie Bunch: History in the making at African-American Museum".The Star-Ledger.RetrievedMay 8,2012.
- ^abBrown, de Neen (February 17, 2012)."Lonnie Bunch's vision for the Museum of African American History and Culture".The Washington Post.RetrievedMay 9,2012.
- ^ab"Lonnie G. Bunch, III, Director, NMAAHC".Smithsonian Institution Archives.RetrievedMay 8,2012.
- ^"Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III Will Give Address for GW's Commencement Celebration | GW Today | the George Washington University".GW Today.RetrievedMay 3,2024.
- ^"Lonnie G. Bunch named Director of National Museum of African American History and Culture".Archives.General Notes.Smithsonian Institution.March 14, 2005.RetrievedMay 8,2012.
- ^"Lonnie G. Bunch III".Smithsonian Institution.
- ^"About the Museum".National Museum of African American History and Culture.RetrievedFebruary 19,2020.
- ^Dwyer, Colin (May 28, 2019)."Lonnie Bunch III set to become Smithsonian Institution's first black secretary".NPR.RetrievedMay 28,2019.
- ^Homan, Timothy R. (February 12, 2021)."Pentagon, Congress appoint panel members to rename Confederate base names".The Hill.RetrievedFebruary 13,2021.
- ^Kheel, Rebecca (March 2, 2021)."Commissioners tasked with scrubbing Confederate base names sworn-in at first meeting".The Hill.
- ^Trescott, Jacqueline (March 16, 2005)."Smithsonian taps Lonnie Bunch to be African American Museum Director".The Washington Post.RetrievedMay 9,2012.
- ^"American: American University Magazine".American University.RetrievedMay 28,2019.
- ^"[no title cited]".Ebony magazine.Vol. 56, no. 9. July 2001.
- ^Traynor, Elizabeth (October 21, 2011)."Annual Jackie Robinson Night honors celebrated historian".The GW Hatchet.RetrievedMay 9,2012.
- ^McGlone, Peggy (May 28, 2019)."Smithsonian's new secretary, Lonnie Bunch III, faces political and financial challenges".Washington Post.ISSN0190-8286.RetrievedSeptember 25,2019.
- ^"Honorary Degrees".Brown University.RetrievedOctober 21,2020.
- ^"Dan David Prize".2020.
- ^"Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement".achievement.org.American Academy of Achievement.
- ^"2022 Summit".achievement.org.American Academy of Achievement.
- ^"Lonnie G. Bunch III | Yale 2023".yale2023.yale.edu.RetrievedJune 5,2024.
External links
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- AppearancesonC-SPAN
- interview with Bunch(video). Q&A. C-SPAN. August 6, 2006.
- Frank, Adrienne & Unger, Mike (March 2017)."A painful and prideful past".American University Magazine.American University.
- "Lonnie G. Bunch is renovating the Nation's Attic",The New Yorker,retrieved 12 July 2024.
- 1952 births
- Living people
- 20th-century African-American people
- 21st-century African-American writers
- 21st-century American historians
- 21st-century American male writers
- African-American curators
- African-American male writers
- African-American museum directors
- American curators
- American male non-fiction writers
- American University alumni
- Belleville High School (New Jersey) alumni
- Directors of museums in the United States
- Historians from New Jersey
- Members of the American Philosophical Society
- People from Belleville, New Jersey
- Secretaries of the Smithsonian Institution
- Writers from Newark, New Jersey