Dan’s Reviews > A Fool's Errand: Creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the Age of Bush, Obama, and Trump > Status Update

"This notion that success was dependent upon a collective effort and that wisdom should be gleaned from every corner of an organization became the cornerstone of how I thought about the kind of staff that would be needed to create the National Museum of African American History and Culture. From these conversations I realized that a leader is only as good as the people he or she hires, mentors, and listens to."

"I have always believed that the job of any museum director, but especially one at the Smithsonian Institution, required skills that one rarely learns in graduate school. It is not enough to be smart or to be a content expert. One needs to hone not only one's political skills but also to embrace the diplomacy and street smarts that are now required for effective leadership."

"One can tell a great deal about a country by what it remembers. By what graces the wall of its museums. And what monuments have privileged placement in parks or central traffic intersections . . . Yet one learns even more about a nation by what it forgets. What moments of evil, disappointment, and defeat are downplayed or eliminated from the national narratives."