Guest Editorial: Bunch exit from Smithsonian latest casualty in Trump’s war on Black history; New Pittsburgh Courier, September 25, 2026

Courier Newsroom , New Pittsburgh Courier; Guest Editorial: Bunch exit from Smithsonian latest casualty in Trump’s war on Black history

[Kip Currier: The Pittsburgh Courier has a rich history as one of America's most influential Black newspapers. The paper was started as a simple broadsheet in 1907 by aspiring writer and H.J. Heinz Company security guard, Edwin Nathaniel Harleston. In the 1960's the paper was relaunched as The New Pittsburgh Courier. 

The editorial below addresses the recent retirement announcement by Lonnie Bunch III, the head of the Smithsonian museums. Issues implicated include cultural heritage center curation and leadership, intellectual freedom, access to information, the historical record, memory, preservation, truth, and accuracy of information, among others.]

"Lonnie Bunch, a historian who made history as the Smithsonian Institution’s first African American secretary, became a recurring target as President Donald Trump intensified his attacks on how America tells the story of race, slavery and inequality.

Bunch’s resignation this week should concern anyone who cares about American history, the truth and intellectual freedom.

But what is happening now goes beyond an attempt to erase Black history. It is an effort to cancel Black thought. The phrase “cancel culture” has been weaponized for years by conservatives who argue that dissenting viewpoints are being silenced. Yet, what is happening when Black voices that challenge comforting myths about America are pushed aside? This is not simply a debate about museum exhibits. It is a battle over who gets to define America’s story.

Trump wants to shape how Americans understand their past. The Smithsonian became a battleground in that effort."

Pope warns against 'losing humanity' to AI machines; BBC, September 24, 2026

Hugh Schofield, BBC; Pope warns against 'losing humanity' to AI machines

"Pope Leo XIV has issued a warning about the dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) at the start of his four-day visit to France.

The pontiff cautioned against "losing our humanity amid a paradise of machines" in wide-ranging remarks to Church and state officials at the Élysée Palace, following an hour of talks with President Emmanuel Macron.

Leo made a similar warning earlier this year when he spoke of the need for AI to be "disarmed" in the first major teaching document of his papacy.

In his May appeal, he mentioned the slave trade in relation to AI, suggesting that the world was in danger of normalising the exploitation of people once again."

Frank Mugisha: Inamori Ethics Prize Biography; Case Western Reserve University, September 23, 2026

Case Western Reserve University; Frank Mugisha: Inamori Ethics Prize Biography

Top Army drill sergeant says basic training isn’t just about being tough: ‘We have to operate with empathy’; Task & Purpose, September 24, 2026

 MATT WHITE , Task & Purpose; Top Army drill sergeant says basic training isn’t just about being tough: ‘We have to operate with empathy’

"Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Harrington speaks with a clear, even voice, which, if you’ve ever met an Army drill sergeant, might be surprising. When he discusses life “on the trail,” as drill sergeants describe their jobs, his words are free of the raspy or strained tones that many in his profession have adopted after countless hours of shouted “corrections.”

Part of his unblemished voice, he says, comes from good technique and the occasional cup of tea...

Beyond his voice, as the 2026 Army Reserve Drill Sergeant of the Year, Harrington breaks most of the cliches associated with drill sergeants as a campaign-hatted disciplinarian.

“You think of a ‘drill sergeant,’ you think of yelling, and this authoritative figure that’s always screaming,” Harrington told Task & Purpose. “But we’re so much more than that, right? We are coaches, mentors. We’re fathers. We’re chaplains. We have to operate with empathy...

A “decline” in the rigor of basic training is a perpetual favorite topic of veterans of every age. But the issue of harsher, tougher basic training has gotten a boost since Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth promised to revamp basic training so that drill sergeants would “instill fear,” curse, and “put their hands on recruits.”

Harrington, while avoiding commenting on those policies, said he was confident that current training standards give new recruits all they can handle while producing soldiers ready for the army. 

“Basic combat training is supposed to be challenging,” Harrington said. “We’re not doing anything that is outside of what we’re supposed to be doing as drill sergeants. We’re just making the next warfighter. Between corrective action and corrective training, teaching, mentoring, coaching an individual up, they’re civilians coming off of the couch, the sons and daughters of our citizens, and we have to make them into a soldier.”

The value of a good drill sergeant, he said, is not in harassment or hazing, but in teaching and understanding how to keep recruits on track.

“You know life happens and these individuals go through, you know, tough times, leaving their families, coming from hard situations, and everything like that,” he said. “And you have to be empathetic and support them and coach them through that, and get them to cross the finish line.”

Clearfield votes to extend Moshannon Valley Detention Center contract; Altoona Mirror, September 22, 2026

 Melissa Perez-Carrillo, Altoona Mirror; Clearfield votes to extend Moshannon Valley Detention Center contract

"The Clearfield County Board of Commissioners voted 2-1 on Tuesday to approve a six-month contract extension for the operation of Moshannon Valley Processing Center.

Commissioners Tim Winters and John Sobel voted in favor of the extension, and Commissioner Dave Glass voted against...

n September 2021, the county entered into five-year agreements with ICE and GEO Group. It has served as a middleman between the government agency and the private contractor that owns and operates Moshannon. The setup offered a workaround to former President Joe Biden's 2021 executive order banning private federal prisons, which President Donald Trump reversed in 2025...

Since the facility reopened as an immigration detention facility, it has drawn criticism for poor-quality food, inadequate healthcare, and inhumane conditions. The facility's population has only risen as the Trump administration has escalated federal immigration policy and quickened deportations at a historic rate...

Migliozzi told Spotlight PA he thinks the federal government's approach to buying detention facilities circumvents accountability and further obscures their operations, as there is no precedent for states to regulate the federal government.

"If, in fact, the federal government purchases Moshannon," he said, "it will only become more difficult to monitor and expose what is happening inside, and that is very intentional on the part of the federal government."

No more book bans: how Florida students are pushing rightwingers out of school boards; The Guardian, September 18, 2026

Anna North, The Guardian; No more book bans: how Florida students are pushing rightwingers out of school boards

Local communities are fighting back against the influence of conservative groups like Moms for Liberty in education

"By channeling anger against mask mandates in schools, the rightwing group Moms for Liberty, founded in Florida, built an outsized influence on school boards across the country in 2022. Soon, members began pressuring schools to remake their curricula along conservative ideological lines, erasing mentions of LGBTQ+ Americans, slavery, racism and more.

As a Black dad living in a historically Black part of Sarasota, Glover said he was especially disturbed by governor Ron DeSantis’s announcement that Florida schools would begin teaching students that some Black people benefited from slavery. “Now my children and the students in my community weren’t going to be learning about the true history of this country,” Glover said.

So the father of four decided to run for Sarasota’s school board this year. He is part of a larger movement of students, parents, teachers and concerned community members pushing back against the influence of groups like Moms for Liberty in Florida public education. They wanted schools that were safe and welcoming for all students, and that focused on learning rather than scoring points on the national political scene.

And last month, they won."

Documentary Review: “The Librarians” puts the human cost of book banning on screen; The Cascadia Advocate, September 13, 2026

 Alex Fiedler, The Cascadia Advocate; Documentary Review: “The Librarians” puts the human cost of book banning on screen

The ninety-two minute film directed and produced by Kim A. Snyder, which is free to stream, is most compelling when it focuses on the librarians, parents, and students caught in the struggle over censorship.

"The Librarians covers a big flash point of today’s “culture wars”: the school library...

The Librarians makes a compelling case, typically through implication or through the voices of librarians, concerned parents, and students, that their actual motives lie in hiding ideas and perspectives they oppose from their children...

The Librarians makes its impassioned case with the aid of interview footage, video recordings of school board meetings, and clips from conservative media. Occasionally interspersed are excerpts from films and historical footage, making an emotional appeal for the enduring power of literature and the dangers of censorship...

The Librarians is available to stream for free on Kanopy and pbs.org."

Trump administration moving ahead with signs outside Smithsonian museum; The Washington Post; September 16, 2026

 

Jonathan Edwards

 and 

Elahe Izadi

, The Washington Post; Trump administration moving ahead with signs outside Smithsonian museum

Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said about a dozen signs would be installed outside the National Museum of American History warning of curators’ “personal viewpoints.”

"The Trump administration is moving ahead with plans to comply with President Donald Trump’s order to install signs outside the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History that would warn visitors about what the White House has called ideological bias in the institution’s presentation of the nation’s past.

The Interior Department is preparing about a dozen signs, expected to cost roughly $7,000 apiece, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum disclosed in a Sept. 3 letter to Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations subcommittee with jurisdiction over Smithsonian funding. Burgum said the signs, which he described as temporary, have not yet been finalized...

The planned signs are one piece of a broader campaign by the Trump administration to reshape how the Smithsonian presents American history, an effort that has intensified in recent months through executive orders, reviews of museum exhibits and threats to withhold some forms of federal support from the institution...

Trump ordered the signs after the White House issued a 162-page report on July 4 accusing the American History Museum and its director, Anthea Hartig, of promoting “extreme political activism.” The report, which rattled Smithsonian employees, scrutinized current and former exhibits and drew extensively from public comments by Hartig and other Smithsonian officials."

Lonnie Bunch Protected the Smithsonian From More Than Trump; The Atlantic, September 9, 2026

 Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic; Lonnie Bunch Protected the Smithsonian From More Than Trump

"Since his appointment as the Smithsonian’s top official—its 14th secretary and the first historian and Black man to hold the position—in June 2019, Bunch has been the glue holding the Smithsonian together. Through a combination of principled stances and deft political skills, he has kept the sprawling institution on mission and aligned with its public. Chief Justice John Roberts, who serves as the Smithsonian’s chancellor, said in a statementthat Bunch has “pursued excellence in the telling of our nation’s story” and that the Smithsonian has “benefited greatly from his wisdom, vision, and leadership.”"

Smithsonian’s Secretary to Resign as Trump Tries to Rule the Institution; The New York Times, September 8, 2026

 Robin Pogrebin and Graham Bowley , The New York Times; Smithsonian’s Secretary to Resign as Trump Tries to Rule the Institution

"After a seven-year run marked most recently by attacks from the Trump administration, Lonnie G. Bunch III announced on Tuesday that he was stepping down as secretary of the Smithsonian Institution.

The White House has escalated its criticism of how the Smithsonian presents American history and values, prompting concern from some about what they see as an assault on the institution’s autonomy and commendation from others for reining in an organization they view as overtaken by liberal bias.

In an interview, Mr. Bunch, 73, said it was not the pressure that had led to his departure."

The Dallas Public Library is getting rid of English classes. A volunteer calls the cuts 'baffling'; KERA News, September 4, 2026

 

Miranda Suarez, 

Ron Corning

, KERA News; The Dallas Public Library is getting rid of English classes. A volunteer calls the cuts 'baffling'

"The Dallas Public Library is cutting its adult education programs, including classes for English language learners, as the city tries to deal with a $51 million budget shortfall. Similar resources will now be much harder to find, especially for undocumented students, one library volunteer told NTX Now.

The program elimination was necessary to keep all of the city's library branches open, Library Director Manya Shorr previously said. The system is also cutting more than 70 positions, about 30 of which are currently filled, according to The Dallas Morning News."

Fired librarian Patty Hector gets payday from Saline County. (August 29, 2026). Arkansas Times

Byron Tate, Arkansas Times; Fired librarian Patty Hector gets payday from Saline County 

"Patty Hector, the Saline County librarian — eventually the fired Saline County librarian — who wouldn’t bend the knee to Republican demands to hide books they didn’t like, came out $275,000 to the good in a lawsuit she filed against the county.

In October 2023, after months of controversy and harassment over the placement of books on gender and race, Hector was fired by Saline County Judge Matt Brumley after the all-Republican Quorum Court stripped the power to hire and fire library directors from the county’s Library Board, which had declined to take action, and gave it to the county judge.

The American Civil Liberties Union took up her case in February 2025, filing a federal lawsuit against the county, alleging Hector’s First Amendment rights had been trampled when she was retaliated against because of her public stance against the censorship efforts."

Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Changes Lives. Some States Gut It Anyway.; The New York Times, August 26, 2026

 Ash Wu, The New York Times; Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library Changes Lives. Some States Gut It Anyway.

"In 1995, Parton started the Imagination Library in Sevier County, Tenn., where she grew up. The program mails a free book each month to registered children from birth until age 5.

The Imagination Library mushroomed after forging an exclusive partnership with Penguin Young Readers in 2001; the agreement was later expanded to include Random House Children’s Books, after Penguin and Random House merged in 2012. In the United States, books are selected by childhood literacy experts, according to the Imagination Library website. Educational nonprofits that partner with the library help to enroll children in their local communities in the program, paying an average of $2.60 per child to cover the costs of books and postage each month.

Parton dedicated the library to her father, a farmer who never learned to read or write.

“My daddy just loved it when all the little kids would call me ‘The Book Lady,’” Parton wrote in a note to fans that was previously posted to her website. “That meant more to him than the fact that I had become a star and worked my butt off.”"

Dolly Parton Shared How She Wanted to Be Remembered Before Death; E! News, August 25, 2026

 GABRIELLE CHUNG, E! News ; Dolly Parton Shared How She Wanted to Be Remembered Before Death

Before Dolly Parton died at 80 on Aug. 25, she said she wanted to be remembered not for her country music career, but for her work as "the book lady" through her Imagination Library charity program.

"Dolly Parton's 9 to 5 wasn't all about music.

In fact, the country singer—who died on Aug. 25 at age 80—always wanted to be remembered for her work through Dolly Parton's Imagination Library, a charitable program that provides free books to kids from birth to age 5.

“My dad couldn't read or write and that was kind of crippling to him," she shared in her 2020 documentary The Library That Dolly Built. "Of all the things I’ve done in my life—and it’s been a lot because I’ve been around a long time—this is one of the most precious things and the proudest I’ve been of any program I’ve ever been involved in, working with these kids."

And that's how she became "the book lady" amongst her youngest fans.

"Daddy got to live long enough to hear the kids call me 'the book lady,'" Dolly, who launched the book-gifting project in 1995 in honor of her father Robert Lee Parton, told Today in 2019. "He was proud of as me being a star, and that meant so much to him."

So, which title did she prefer most: country music queen or book lady?

"The book lady," she said without hesitation. "I have loved doing this for the kids. There's nothing more important than our little kids, to make an impression on them when they're young and to teach them the right things early on."

Exercising Agency with AI; American Libraries, June 29, 2026

 Terra Dankowski  , American Libraries; Exercising Agency with AI

Tips for navigating products and policies, whether or not you choose to adopt the technology

"Michael Hanegan, founder of the Center for the Future of Learning and Work, described a scenario that might be frustratingly familiar to information professionals: His mom often falls for deep fakes. She came of age in a time when people were told to believe their eyes and video was considered an unimpeachable medium, and she’s unaware of what generative artificial intelligence (AI) is capable of.

Knowing that some librarians are thinking about ignoring AI completely, Hanegan had a thought: “What institution is going to help [my mom] and all of her friends navigate this?”

“Disengagement from AI guarantees your vulnerability,” he said. “The people that you serve will be harmed without your trusted guidance.”

Hanegan was one of four panelists who spoke at “Ethical AI in Libraries: A Critical Look at the Potential and Promise” at the American Library Association’s 2026 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago on June 28. The panel, moderated by Micah May, director of business development at Lyrasis, offered suggestions for how libraries can navigate the ethical implications of generative AI, even if they choose not to use it in their workflow.

“Regardless of whether you adopt AI or not, [you should] have guidelines,” said Brandy McNeil, deputy director of branch programming and services for New York Public Library (NYPL) and Public Library Association president.

McNeil said libraries should carefully weigh whether AI tools are inclusive, accountable, human-centered, transparent, and protect privacy.

“When [vendors say they use] industry standard practices, which standards? When they say they anonymize data, how? Which fields are removed?” McNeil asked. “Those are some of the things you want to be concerned about.”

The spread of AI is “inevitable,” said Marshall Breeding, editor of Library Technology Guides, as vendors are increasingly integrating AI technology into their products. But, he said, “we have to push back and make sure [AI] continues to be optional.”"

Trump administration moves to strip bar association’s power to accredit law schools; The Washington Post, August 21, 2026

 

Danielle Douglas-Gabriel

 and 

Mark Berman

, The Washington Post; Trump administration moves to strip bar association’s power to accredit law schools

"The Trump administration’s ongoing feud with the American Bar Association has come to a head, as the Education Department threatens to strip the organization of its power to oversee law school programs across the country."

Russia Burns Books and Sacks Libraries in Ukraine; Wall Street Journal, August 18, 2026

  Emily Hamilton, Wall Street Journal; Russia Burns Books and Sacks Libraries in Ukraine 

"Bibliocide—attacks on the written word—is a common tactic of totalitarians and terrorists. The Nazis burned books in Germany in the 1930s, as did the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia in the 1970s. Bosnian Serbs destroyed Sarajevo’s National and University Library in 1992, and in 2015 ISIS devastated Mosul Central Library.

The Ukrainian Culture Ministry says Russia has damaged or destroyed 906 libraries since 2022. Numerous cases of book burning and library sacking have been documented."

Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick proposes penalties for schools that keep “vulgar” books on library shelves; The Texas Tribune, August 19, 2026

 ALEJANDRO SERRANO , The Texas Tribune; Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick proposes penalties for schools that keep “vulgar” books on library shelves

"Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on Wednesday vowed to pass legislation punishing public schools that do not remove graphic books from their shelves by knocking them down a notch in the state’s annual school performance ratings, which the state uses to seize control of underperforming districts. 

Flanked by easels displaying printed covers of books he found obscene, the lieutenant governor said school boards and administrators have not been following a 2025 law aimed at weeding out lewd books from the shelves in Texas’ more than 9,000 campuses attended by some 5.5 million schoolchildren. 

“It’s the law and we expect you to follow the law. So we’re coming for the books,” Patrick said during a news conference at the Texas Capitol. “We ask that you do it on your own and remove these books.”

The law from last year, Senate Bill 13, granted school boards the authority to approve and remove books based on complaints they receive, such as those from parents and activist groups. Before, those powers largely belonged to school librarians. But Patrick said an overwhelming majority of school boards have not taken any action, as the law nears one year in effect."

A new force is increasing inequality in America; The Washington Post, August 20, 2026

 Shira Ovide, The Washington Post; A new force is increasing inequality in America

Evidence is mounting that artificial intelligence is helping the richest people and cities pull further ahead.

"Sam Altman, the chief executive who unleashed ChatGPT on the world, has called artificial intelligence an “equalizing force” that will “collectively lift us all up.”

But evidence is piling up that the AI boom may instead be widening the gap between America’s economic aristocracy and everyone else.

Data shows that the people making the most use of AI are concentrated in richer urban areas, while disadvantaged regions have lagged behind. Affluent Americans are on a spending spree thanks to investment portfolios fattened by an AI-addicted stock market. And some economic experts are warning that AI could widen the income gap between American workers and business owners that has caused anxiety for a decade."

A Texas University Is Using A.I. to Cut Left-Leaning Content; The New York Times, August 18, 2026

  Vimal Patel , The New York Times; A Texas University Is Using A.I. to Cut Left-Leaning Content

The politician behind Texas’ conservative overhaul of higher education is now running a university system. Some say his effort to ferret out forbidden topics is a dystopian academic nightmare.

"Texas Tech is using A.I. to ferret out books and other materials that touch on topics like sexual orientation and gender identity. Professors describe the effort as a dystopian academic nightmare, in which ideologues are wielding technology to sideline subject-matter experts."