Smithsonian Faces Pressure Over Educator’s Controversial Views

Watchdog Urges Smithsonian to Withdraw from Educator Retreat

The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) is under scrutiny and facing calls to disassociate from an upcoming academic retreat. A watchdog organization, the North American Values Institute (NAVI), has expressed significant concerns regarding one of the workshop leaders slated to participate.

Concerns Over Workshop Facilitator’s Background

The Social Studies Curriculum Coordinators Retreat, scheduled for next month, is being hosted by the University at Buffalo’s Center for K-12 Black History and Racial Literacy Education, under the direction of Dr. LaGarrett King. Ismael Jimenez, who also serves as the Director of Social Studies Curriculum for the School District of Philadelphia, is listed as a co-facilitator for a workshop at the event.

NAVI has raised alarm bells over Jimenez’s past curriculum initiatives, alleged connections to activist groups, and public statements made about Israel. Materials available on the University at Buffalo’s website indicate that a featured session will be a “Reconstruction & Freedmen’s Bureau workshop (with NMAAHC).”

NAVI Cites “Serious Concerns” Regarding Political and Antisemitic Rhetoric

In a letter addressed to the NMAAHC, NAVI stated, “At a time of rising antisemitism, the Smithsonian should not lend its name, staff, or institutional credibility to a K–12 curriculum retreat that is co-facilitated by an educator with this record. By participating, the Smithsonian risks legitimizing the use of Black history education as a vehicle for political, antisemitic, and anti-Israel activism.”

Jimenez, when asked for comment, described the retreat as an opportunity for professional engagement. “I have always believed that education requires a certain degree of humility. None of us arrives at a complete understanding of the world, and part of the work of being an educator is remaining open to learning, reflection, and growth,” Jimenez stated. “That is why I agreed to facilitate at the Social Studies Curriculum Coordinators Retreat. I welcome opportunities to be in conversation with educators who are thinking deeply about their work and the responsibilities we have to the young people we serve.”

Jimenez did not directly address NAVI’s specific criticisms regarding his comments on Israel or other aspects of his record.

Curriculum Under Fire for Perceived Bias

NAVI’s letter to the NMAAHC highlighted that Jimenez’s curriculum had previously drawn scrutiny for its perceived political bias. The organization has documented these concerns, producing a report that characterizes the curriculum as steering students toward activism rather than critical analysis. The report describes the approach as a “one-sided, ideologically driven view of American society” that fails to present alternative perspectives.

Examples cited by NAVI include lessons that prompt students to consider how they will utilize “antiracism & intersectionality as lenses” throughout their studies. The curriculum also incorporates economic exercises focusing on wealth inequality and reparations, and a year-end project requiring students to engage with community issues and develop civic action plans.

Allegations of Antisemitic and Anti-Israel Statements

Beyond curriculum content, NAVI’s concerns extend to Jimenez’s public statements. The organization pointed to instances where Jimenez allegedly referred to Israel as a “terrorist state.” A watchdog group tracking such rhetoric has compiled alleged social media posts attributed to Jimenez, including one that reportedly states, “Israel is a terrorist state # yeahisaidit.” Another alleged 2014 post referred to Israel as “the racist apartheid theocracy terrorist sponsoring state called Israel.” Additionally, posts allegedly by Jimenez have been noted to include praise for convicted cop killer Assata Shakur and the assertion that “all American presidents always used immunity for perpetuating systemic racism.”

Last year, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia issued an open letter to Jimenez and the School District of Philadelphia. This letter raised concerns about a video in which Jimenez appeared to contextualize the October 7th Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians. The federation questioned whether Jimenez believed the victims of the Nova Music Festival massacre “deserved their fate” and whether he justified the kidnapping of civilians, including Holocaust survivors.

Organizational Affiliations Raise Further Questions

NAVI also noted Jimenez’s co-founding role in the Racial Justice Organizing Committee (RJOC), an educator organization within the School District of Philadelphia. The watchdog group cited RJOC’s involvement in anti-Israel activism as an additional reason for its stance against the Smithsonian’s participation.

Furthermore, Jimenez’s position on the board of the W.E.B. Du Bois Movement School for Abolition and Reconstruction, described as a “political education program for aspiring revolutionaries and movement leaders from those communities most impacted by poverty, policing, and mass incarceration,” was also highlighted by NAVI. The organization contends that Jimenez’s record raises questions about his suitability to train educators tasked with shaping K-12 curriculum.

NAVI’s Demands to the Smithsonian

NAVI’s letter formally requests that the Smithsonian withdraw its workshop and any institutional endorsement of the retreat. The organization also urges the Smithsonian to publicly state its non-support for “politicized approaches” to K-12 education and to review its internal procedures for engaging in third-party educator training. NAVI further called for assurances that “federal resources are not used to legitimize activists or organizations associated with antisemitism, ideological extremism, or those who rationalize terrorism.”

The letter concluded by emphasizing the importance of public trust in the Smithsonian’s educational mission. “The Smithsonian’s educational mission depends on public trust. That trust is undermined when a federal cultural institution lends its credibility to a K–12 curriculum event shaped by an activist with a record of anti-Israel extremism and antisemitism,” the letter read.