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'''Lonnie G. Bunch III''' (born November 18, 1952) is an [[United States|American]] educator and [[historian]]. Bunch is the 14th Secretary of the [[Smithsonian Institution]], the first [[African American]] and first historian to serve as head of the Smithsonian.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://twitter.com/smithsonian/status/1133372058111434752|title=We are thrilled to announce that our Board of Regents has elected Lonnie G. Bunch III as the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, effective June 16. The founding director of our @NMAAHC, Bunch brings a reputation for compelling scholarship and visionary leadership.pic.twitter.com/AaeBIYCoXz|last=Smithsonian|date=May 28, 2019|website=@smithsonian|access-date=May 28, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://twitter.com/smithsonian/status/1133372727153217537|title=Bunch is the first African American to serve as Secretary of the Smithsonian. He is also the first historian elected Secretary and the first museum director to ascend to Secretary in 74 years. Watch the announcement live:http://si.edu/live|last=Smithsonian|date=May 28, 2019|website=@smithsonian|access-date=May 28, 2019}}</ref> He has spent most of his career as a history museum [[curator]] and administrator. He served as the founding director of the Smithsonian's [[National Museum of African American History and Culture]] (NMAAHC) from 2005 to 2019. Bunch previously served as president and director of the [[Chicago History Museum]] (Chicago Historical Society) from 2000 to 2005.<ref name=SIA1>{{cite web|title=National Museum of African American History and Culture|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/history/national-museum-african-american-history-and-culture|work=Smithsonian History|publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution Archives]]|accessdate= May 8, 2012}}</ref> In the 1980s, he was the first curator at the [[California African American Museum]], and then a curator at the Smithsonian's [[National Museum of American History]], where in the 1990s, he rose to head curatorial affairs. In 2020 he was elected to the [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref>https://www.amphilsoc.org/blog/american-philosophical-society-welcomes-new-members-2020</ref>
'''Lonnie G. Bunch III''' (born November 18, 1952) is an [[United States|American]] educator and [[historian]]. Bunch is the 14th&nbsp;Secretary of the [[Smithsonian Institution]], the first [[African American]] and first historian to serve as head of the Smithsonian.{{efn|We are thrilled to announce that our Board of Regents has elected Lonnie G. Bunch&nbsp;III as the 14th&nbsp;Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, effective June&nbsp;16. The founding director of our @NMAAHC, Bunch brings a reputation for compelling scholarship and visionary leadership.<ref>{{cite web |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |date=28 May 2019 |website=@smithsonian |url=https://twitter.com/smithsonian/status/1133372058111434752 |title=leadership.pic.twitter.com/AaeBIYCoXz |access-date=28 May 2019}}</ref>}}{{efn|Bunch is the first African American to serve as Secretary of the Smithsonian. He is also the first historian elected Secretary and the first museum director to ascend to Secretary in 74&nbsp;years. Watch the announcement live: http://si.edu/live&nbsp;.<ref>{{cite web |title=[no title cited] |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |date=28 May 2019 |website=@smithsonian |url=https://twitter.com/smithsonian/status/1133372727153217537 |access-date=May 28, 2019}}</ref>}} He has spent most of his career as a history museum [[curator]] and administrator. He served as the founding director of the Smithsonian's [[National Museum of African American History and Culture]] (NMAAHC) from 2005 to 2019. Bunch previously served as president and director of the [[Chicago History Museum]] (Chicago Historical Society) from 2000 to 2005.<ref name=SIA1>{{cite web |title=National Museum of African American History and Culture |url=http://siarchives.si.edu/history/national-museum-african-american-history-and-culture |work=Smithsonian History |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |department=[[Smithsonian Institution Archives|Archives]] |access-date=8 May 2012}}</ref> In the 1980s, he was the first curator at the [[California African American Museum]], and then a curator at the Smithsonian's [[National Museum of American History]], where in the 1990s, he rose to head curatorial affairs. In 2020 he was elected to the [[American Philosophical Society]].<ref>{{cite web |title=American Philosophical Society welcomes new members |publisher=American Philosophical Society |year=2020 |url=https://www.amphilsoc.org/blog/american-philosophical-society-welcomes-new-members-2020}}</ref>


==Early life==
==Early life==
Bunch was born in [[Newark, New Jersey]], in 1952<ref name=HM/> to Lonnie Bunch II (a science and chemistry public school teacher) and Montrose Bunch (a third-grade teacher public school teacher),<ref>{{Cite web|title=Q&A with Lonnie Bunch {{!}} C-SPAN.org|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?193730-1/qa-lonnie-bunch|access-date=2020-06-19|website=www.c-span.org|language=en-us}}</ref> both graduates of [[Shaw University]].<ref name="DiIonno" /> He grew up in [[Belleville, New Jersey|Belleville]], New Jersey, where his family were the only [[African American]]s in their neighborhood. His grandfather, a former [[sharecropper]], moved into the area as one of the first black dentists in the region.<ref name=brown /> As a child, he experienced racism from white teenagers in his neighborhood.<ref name=brown>{{cite news|last=Brown |first=DeNeen|title=Lonnie Bunch's vision for the Museum of African American History and Culture |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/lonnie-bunchs-vision-for-the-museum-of-african-american-history-and-culture/2012/02/06/gIQAffc8JR_story.html|accessdate= May 9, 2012|newspaper=Washington Post|date= February 17, 2012}}</ref>
Bunch was born in [[Newark, New Jersey]], in 1952<ref name=HM/> to Lonnie Bunch II (a science and chemistry public school teacher) and Montrose Bunch (a third-grade teacher public school teacher),<ref>{{cite media |title=Q&A with Lonnie Bunch |website=www.c-span.org |medium=video |url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?193730-1/qa-lonnie-bunch |access-date=2020-06-19 |language=en-us}}</ref> both graduates of [[Shaw University]].<ref name="DiIonno"/> He grew up in [[Belleville, New Jersey|Belleville]], New Jersey, where his family were the only [[African American]]s in their neighborhood. His grandfather, a former [[sharecropper]], moved into the area as one of the first black dentists in the region.<ref name=brown/> As a child, he experienced racism from white teenagers in his neighborhood.<ref name=brown>{{cite news |last=Brown |first=de&nbsp;Neen |title=Lonnie Bunch's vision for the Museum of African American History and Culture |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/lonnie-bunchs-vision-for-the-museum-of-african-american-history-and-culture/2012/02/06/gIQAffc8JR_story.html |access-date=9 May 2012 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=17 February 2012}}</ref> Bunch credits his childhood experiences with local [[Italian immigrants]] and his reading of biographies as a youth with inspiring him to study history. Bunch wanted to give a voice to those who were "anonymous" or not written about. In 2011 Bunch reflected on the early exposures: "I was in junior high, and we were reading biographies of historic figures. I remember one on [[Anthony Wayne|Gen. &nbsp;‘Mad Anthony’ Wayne]], and one on [[Clara Barton]], and [[Dorothea 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 the [[First World War]]. I devoured it."<ref name=DiIonno>{{cite news |last=di&nbsp;Ionno |first=Mark |title=N.J.'s Lonnie Bunch: History in the making at African-American Museum |newspaper=[[The Star-Ledger]] |date=February 13, 2011 |url=http://blog.nj.com/njv_mark_diionno/2011/02/lonnie_bunch_history_in_the_ma.html |access-date=8 May 2012}}</ref>
Bunch credits his childhood experiences with local [[Italian immigrants]] and his reading of biographies as a youth with inspiring him to study history. Bunch wanted to give a voice to those who were "anonymous" or not written about. In 2011 Bunch reflected on the early exposures: "I was in junior high and we were reading biographies of historic figures. I remember one on Gen. [[Anthony Wayne|‘Mad Anthony’ Wayne]], and one on [[Clara Barton]] and [[Dorothea 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 the [[First World War]]. I devoured it."<ref name=DiIonno>{{cite news|last=Di Ionno|first=Mark|title=N.J.'s Lonnie Bunch: History in the making at African-American museum|url=http://blog.nj.com/njv_mark_diionno/2011/02/lonnie_bunch_history_in_the_ma.html|accessdate= May 8, 2012|newspaper=[[The Star-Ledger]]|date=February 13, 2011}}</ref>


==Education==
==Education==
He graduated from [[Belleville High School (New Jersey)|Belleville High School]] in 1970.<ref name="HM" /> Bunch attended [[Howard University]]<ref name="HM">{{cite web|title=Lonnie Bunch Biography|url=http://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/lonnie-bunch-39|work= EducationMakers|publisher=The History Makers|accessdate= May 8, 2012}}</ref> but transferred to [[American University]], [[Washington, DC]], where he earned his B.A. and M.A. in [[American history]] and [[African history]].<ref name="SIA2">{{cite web |title=Lonnie G. Bunch, III, Director, NMAAHC|url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_12673|publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution Archives]]|accessdate=May 8, 2012}}</ref><ref name="HM" />
He graduated from [[Belleville High School (New Jersey)|Belleville High School]] in 1970.<ref name="HM"/> Bunch attended [[Howard University]]<ref name="HM">{{cite web |title=Lonnie Bunch biography |series=Education Makers |website=The History Makers |url=http://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/lonnie-bunch-39 |access-date=8 May 2012}}</ref> but transferred to [[American University]], [[Washington, DC]], where he earned his B.A. and M.A. in [[American history]] and [[African history]].<ref name="SIA2">{{cite web |title=Lonnie G. Bunch, III, Director, NMAAHC |url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_12673 |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution Archives]] |access-date=8 May 2012}}</ref><ref name="HM" />


== Personal life ==
== Personal life ==
Bunch met Maria Marable in graduate school; they would eventually marry and she became Maria Marable-Bunch.<ref>{{Cite web|title=American: American University Magazine|url=https://www.american.edu/magazine/|accessdate=May 28, 2019|website=American University}}</ref> The couple have two daughters.<ref>''[[Ebony (magazine)|Ebony]]'' Magazine, July 2001, Volume 56# 9.</ref>
Bunch met Maria Marable in graduate school; they would eventually marry and she became Maria Marable-Bunch.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=American: American University Magazine |url=https://www.american.edu/magazine/ |access-date=28 May 2019 |website=American University}}</ref> The couple have two daughters.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=[no title cited] |magazine=[[Ebony (magazine)|Ebony magazine]] |date=July 2001 |volume=56 |issue=9}}</ref>


==Professional career==
==Professional career==
[[File:Lonnie Bunch at NMAAHC Site Selection News Conference.jpg|thumb|left|Lonnie Bunch at NMAAHC Site Selection News Conference]]
[[File:Lonnie Bunch at NMAAHC Site Selection News Conference.jpg|thumb|left|Lonnie Bunch at NMAAHC Site Selection News Conference]]
Bunch started working at the [[Smithsonian Institution]] while he was working on his master's degree. After graduating, he was hired as a history professor at the [[University of Maryland]]. In 1983, he became the first [[curator]] at the [[California African American Museum]].<ref name=HM/> He worked at the [[National Museum of American History]] from 1989 until 1994 as a curator. Lonnie Bunch is an educator who was a Professor at the University of Maryland. 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, the [[Chicago Historical Society]], from 2001 to 2005.<ref name=general>{{cite web|title=Lonnie G. Bunch Named Director of National Museum of African American History and Culture |url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_11606 |work=General Notes|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Archives|accessdate= May 8, 2012}}</ref> In Chicago he led a successful capital campaign, and promoted outreach to diverse communities. One noted exhibit, ''Teen Chicago'', focused on teenager life.<ref>[https://www.si.edu/about/bios/lonnie-g-bunch-iii "Lonnie G. Bunch III"], Smithsonian.</ref>
Bunch started working at the [[Smithsonian Institution]] while he was working on his master's degree. After graduating, he was hired as a history professor at the [[University of Maryland]]. In 1983, he became the first [[curator]] at the [[California African American Museum]].<ref name=HM/> He worked at the [[National Museum of American History]] from 1989 until 1994 as a curator. Lonnie Bunch is an educator who was a Professor at the University of Maryland. 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, the [[Chicago Historical Society]], from 2001 to 2005.<ref name=general>{{cite web |title=Lonnie G. Bunch named Director of National Museum of African American History and Culture |series=General Notes |department=[[Smithsonian Institution Archives|Archives]] |publisher=[[Smithsonian Institution]] |url=http://siarchives.si.edu/collections/siris_sic_11606 |access-date=8 May 2012}}</ref> In Chicago he led a successful capital campaign, and promoted outreach to diverse communities. One noted exhibit, ''Teen Chicago'', focused on teenager life.<ref>{{cite web |title=Lonnie G. Bunch III |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |url=https://www.si.edu/about/bios/lonnie-g-bunch-iii}}</ref>


In 2005, Bunch was named the director of the Smithsonian Institution's [[National Museum of African American History and Culture]].<ref name=SIA2/> As founding director he designed a program of traveling exhibitions and public events prior to the opening of the museum.<ref>"[http://go.si.edu/site/PageNavigator/mm_about About the Museum]". National Museum of African American History and Culture. Retrieved February 19, 2020.</ref>
In 2005, Bunch was named the director of the Smithsonian Institution's [[National Museum of African American History and Culture]].<ref name=SIA2/> As founding director he designed a program of traveling exhibitions and public events prior to the opening of the museum.<ref>{{cite web |title=About the Museum |publisher=National Museum of African American History and Culture |access-date=19 February 2020 |url=http://go.si.edu/site/PageNavigator/mm_about}}</ref>


He served on the Commission for the Preservation of the [[White House]] during the [[George W. Bush administration]]<ref name=HM/> and was reappointed to the Commission by President Obama in 2010.
He served on the Commission for the Preservation of the [[White House]] during the [[George W. Bush administration]]<ref name=HM/> and was reappointed to the Commission by President Obama in 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, at which time a search will begin for a new director for the NMAAHC.<ref>{{cite news|last=Dwyer|first=Colin|title=Lonnie Bunch III Set To Become Smithsonian Institution's First Black Secretary|work=NPR|date=May 28, 2019|accessdate=May 28, 2019|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/05/28/727497208/smithsonian-institution-names-lonnie-bunch-iii-as-its-next-secretary}}</ref>
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&nbsp;year history, taking on his new role in mid-June&nbsp;2019, at which time a search will begin for a new director for the NMAAHC.<ref>{{cite news |last=Dwyer |first=Colin |title=Lonnie Bunch III set to become Smithsonian Institution's first black secretary |work=NPR |date=28 May 2019 |url=https://www.npr.org/2019/05/28/727497208/smithsonian-institution-names-lonnie-bunch-iii-as-its-next-secretary |access-date=28 May 2019}}</ref>


===Exhibits and research===
===Exhibits and research===
He curated the National Museum of American History exhibition ''The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden''.<ref name=DiIonno /> The exhibition was curated, built, and opened within eight months.<ref name=Trescott>{{cite news|last=Trescott|first=Jacqueline |title=Smithsonian Taps Lonnie Bunch to Be African American Museum Director|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38699-2005Mar15.html|accessdate= May 9, 2012|newspaper=Washington Post|date=March 16, 2005}}</ref>
He curated the National Museum of American History exhibition ''The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden''.<ref name=DiIonno/> The exhibition was curated, built, and opened within eight months.<ref name=Trescott>{{cite news |last=Trescott |first=Jacqueline |title=Smithsonian taps Lonnie Bunch to be African American Museum Director |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=16 March 2005 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A38699-2005Mar15.html |access-date=9 May 2012}}</ref>


==Notable awards==
==Notable awards==


* 2011 Jackie Robinson Society Community Recognition Award <ref name=traynor>{{cite news|last=Traynor|first=Elizabeth|title=Annual Jackie Robinson Night honors celebrated historian|url=http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/courtside/tag/lonnie-bunch/|accessdate= May 9, 2012|newspaper=The GW Hatchet|date= October 21, 2011}}</ref>
* 2011 Jackie Robinson Society Community Recognition Award <ref name=traynor>{{cite news |last=Traynor |first=Elizabeth|title=Annual Jackie Robinson Night honors celebrated historian |url=http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/courtside/tag/lonnie-bunch/ |accessdate=9 May 2012 |newspaper=The GW Hatchet|date= October 21, 2011}}</ref>
* 2017 [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]
* 2017 [[American Academy of Arts and Sciences]]
* 2018 [[Phi Beta Kappa]] Award for Distinguished Service to Humanity <ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/smithsonian-names-lonnie-bunch-iii-as-new-secretary-the-first-african-american-in-the-top-spot/2019/05/27/eda5138c-80a2-11e9-9a67-a687ca99fb3d_story.html |title=Smithsonian's new secretary, Lonnie Bunch III, faces political and financial challenges |last=McGlone |first=Peggy |date=2019-05-28 |work=Washington Post |access-date=2019-09-25 |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
* 2018 [[Phi Beta Kappa]] Award for Distinguished Service to Humanity <ref>{{Cite news |title=Smithsonian's new secretary, Lonnie Bunch III, faces political and financial challenges |last=McGlone |first=Peggy |date=2019-05-28 |work=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/museums/smithsonian-names-lonnie-bunch-iii-as-new-secretary-the-first-african-american-in-the-top-spot/2019/05/27/eda5138c-80a2-11e9-9a67-a687ca99fb3d_story.html |access-date=2019-09-25 |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref>
* 2020 [[Dan David Prize]] <ref>[https://www.dandavidprize.org/laureates/2020 Dan David Prize 2020]</ref>
* 2020 [[Dan David Prize]] <ref>{{cite web |title=Dan David Prize |year=2020 |url=https://www.dandavidprize.org/laureates/2020}}</ref>


==Bibliography==
==Bibliography==

* 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. {{ISBN|0-9622334-0-4}}
* 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. {{ISBN|0-9622334-0-4}}
* with Spencer R. Crew, Mark G. Hirsch and Harry R. Rubenstein, ''The American Presidency, A Glorious Burden''. Washington: Smithsonian Institution. 2000. {{ISBN|978-1560988359}}
* with Spencer R. Crew, Mark G. Hirsch and Harry R. Rubenstein, 2000. ''The American Presidency, A Glorious Burden''. Washington: Smithsonian Institution. {{ISBN|978-1560988359}}
* with Donna M. Wells, David E. Haberstitch and Deborah Willis, ''The Scurlock Studio and Black Washington: Picturing the Promise''. Washington: National Museum of African American History and Culture. 2009. {{ISBN|978-1588342720}}
* 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. {{ISBN|978-1588342720}}
* ''Call the Lost Dream Back: Essays on History, Race & Museums''. Georgia: Big River Books. 2010. {{ISBN|978-1933253176}}
* ''Call the Lost Dream Back: Essays on History, Race & Museums''. Georgia: Big River Books. 2010. {{ISBN|978-1933253176}}
* with Spencer R. Crew and Clement A. Price, ''Slave Culture: A Documentary Collection of the Slave Narratives from the Federal Writers Project''. Connecticut: Greenwood. 2014. {{ISBN|978-1440800863}}
* 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. {{ISBN|978-1440800863}}
*{{Cite book|title=A Fool's Errand: Creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the Age of Bush, Obama, and Trump|last=Bunch|first=Lonnie G.|publisher=Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press|year=2019|isbn=9781588346681|location=Washington, DC|pages=|oclc=1089275852}}
*{{cite book |last=Bunch |first=Lonnie G. |year=2019 |title=A Fool's Errand: Creating the National Museum of African American History and Culture in the age of Bush, Obama, and Trump |publisher=Smithsonian Institution Scholarly Press |isbn=9781588346681 |location=Washington, DC |oclc=1089275852}}


==Footnotes==
==Footnotes==
Line 70: Line 69:
==External links==
==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Commons category}}
*{{C-SPAN|Lonnie Bunch}}
* {{C-SPAN|Lonnie Bunch}}
**[http://www.c-span.org/video/?193730-1/qa-lonnie-bunch C-SPAN ''Q&A''], interview with Bunch, August 6, 2006
* {{cite media |publisher=C-SPAN |series=Q&A |title=interview with Bunch |date=6 August 2006 |medium=video |url=http://www.c-span.org/video/?193730-1/qa-lonnie-bunch}}
* Adrienne Frank and Mike Unger, [http://www.american.edu/magazine/article/a-painful-and-prideful-past.cfm "A Painful and Prideful Past], ''American University Magazine'', March 2017.
* {{cite magazine |first1=Adrienne |last1=Frank |first2=Mike |last2=Unger |last-author-amp=y |date=March 2017 |title=A painful and prideful past |magazine=American University Magazine |publisher=[[American University]] |url=http://www.american.edu/magazine/article/a-painful-and-prideful-past.cfm}}


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Revision as of 23:15, 30 September 2020

Lonnie Bunch
14th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution
Incumbent
Assumed office
June 16, 2019
Preceded byDavid J. Skorton
Personal details
Born (1952-11-18) November 18, 1952 (age 72)
Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Alma materAmerican University (BA, MA)
Academic work
DisciplineHistory of the United States
African American Studies
InstitutionsSmithsonian Institution
National Museum of African American History and Culture
Chicago History Museum

Lonnie G. Bunch III (born November 18, 1952) is an American educator and historian. Bunch is the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, the first African American and first historian to serve as head of the Smithsonian.[a][b] He has spent most of his career as a history museum curator and administrator. He served as the founding director of the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) from 2005 to 2019. Bunch previously served as president and director of the Chicago History Museum (Chicago Historical Society) from 2000 to 2005.[3] In the 1980s, he was the first curator at the California African American Museum, and then a curator at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, where in the 1990s, he rose to head curatorial affairs. In 2020 he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.[4]

Early life

Bunch was born in Newark, New Jersey, in 1952[5] to Lonnie Bunch II (a science and chemistry public school teacher) and Montrose Bunch (a third-grade teacher public school teacher),[6] both graduates of Shaw University.[7] He grew up in Belleville, New Jersey, where his family were the only African Americans in their neighborhood. His grandfather, a former sharecropper, moved into the area as one of the first black dentists in the region.[8] As a child, he experienced racism from white teenagers in his neighborhood.[8] Bunch credits his childhood experiences with local Italian immigrants and his reading of biographies as a youth with inspiring him to study history. Bunch wanted to give a voice to those who were "anonymous" or not written about. In 2011 Bunch reflected on the early exposures: "I was in junior high, and we were reading biographies of historic figures. I remember one on Gen.  ‘Mad Anthony’ Wayne, and one on Clara Barton, and Dorothea 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 the First World War. I devoured it."[7]

Education

He graduated from Belleville High School in 1970.[5] Bunch attended Howard University[5] but transferred to American University, Washington, DC, where he earned his B.A. and M.A. in American history and African history.[9][5]

Personal life

Bunch met Maria Marable in graduate school; they would eventually marry and she became Maria Marable-Bunch.[10] The couple have two daughters.[11]

Professional career

Lonnie Bunch at NMAAHC Site Selection News Conference

Bunch started working at the Smithsonian Institution while he was working on his master's degree. After graduating, he was hired as a history professor at the University of Maryland. In 1983, he became the first curator at the California African American Museum.[5] He worked at the National Museum of American History from 1989 until 1994 as a curator. Lonnie Bunch is an educator who was a Professor at the University of Maryland. 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, the Chicago Historical Society, from 2001 to 2005.[12] In Chicago he led a successful capital campaign, and promoted outreach to diverse communities. One noted exhibit, Teen Chicago, focused on teenager life.[13]

In 2005, Bunch was named the director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture.[9] As founding director he designed a program of traveling exhibitions and public events prior to the opening of the museum.[14]

He served on the Commission for the Preservation of the White House during the George W. Bush administration[5] and was reappointed to the Commission by President Obama in 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, at which time a search will begin for a new director for the NMAAHC.[15]

Exhibits and research

He curated the National Museum of American History exhibition The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden.[7] The exhibition was curated, built, and opened within eight months.[16]

Notable awards

Bibliography

  • 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. ISBN 0-9622334-0-4
  • with Spencer R. Crew, Mark G. Hirsch and Harry R. Rubenstein, 2000. The American Presidency, A Glorious Burden. Washington: Smithsonian Institution. ISBN 978-1560988359
  • 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. ISBN 978-1588342720
  • Call the Lost Dream Back: Essays on History, Race & Museums. Georgia: Big River Books. 2010. ISBN 978-1933253176
  • 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. ISBN 978-1440800863
  • 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. ISBN 9781588346681. OCLC 1089275852.

Footnotes

  1. ^ We are thrilled to announce that our Board of Regents has elected Lonnie G. Bunch III as the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, effective June 16. The founding director of our @NMAAHC, Bunch brings a reputation for compelling scholarship and visionary leadership.[1]
  2. ^ Bunch is the first African American to serve as Secretary of the Smithsonian. He is also the first historian elected Secretary and the first museum director to ascend to Secretary in 74 years. Watch the announcement live: http://si.edu/live .[2]

References

  1. ^ "leadership.pic.twitter.com/AaeBIYCoXz". @smithsonian. Smithsonian Institution. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  2. ^ "[no title cited]". @smithsonian. Smithsonian Institution. 28 May 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  3. ^ "National Museum of African American History and Culture". Archives. Smithsonian History. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  4. ^ "American Philosophical Society welcomes new members". American Philosophical Society. 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Lonnie Bunch biography". The History Makers. Education Makers. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  6. ^ Q&A with Lonnie Bunch. www.c-span.org (video). Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  7. ^ a b c di Ionno, Mark (13 February 2011). "N.J.'s Lonnie Bunch: History in the making at African-American Museum". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  8. ^ a b Brown, de Neen (17 February 2012). "Lonnie Bunch's vision for the Museum of African American History and Culture". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Lonnie G. Bunch, III, Director, NMAAHC". Smithsonian Institution Archives. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  10. ^ "American: American University Magazine". American University. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  11. ^ "[no title cited]". Ebony magazine. Vol. 56, no. 9. July 2001.
  12. ^ "Lonnie G. Bunch named Director of National Museum of African American History and Culture". Archives. General Notes. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  13. ^ "Lonnie G. Bunch III". Smithsonian Institution.
  14. ^ "About the Museum". National Museum of African American History and Culture. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
  15. ^ Dwyer, Colin (28 May 2019). "Lonnie Bunch III set to become Smithsonian Institution's first black secretary". NPR. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
  16. ^ Trescott, Jacqueline (16 March 2005). "Smithsonian taps Lonnie Bunch to be African American Museum Director". The Washington Post. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  17. ^ Traynor, Elizabeth (21 October 2011). "Annual Jackie Robinson Night honors celebrated historian". The GW Hatchet. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  18. ^ McGlone, Peggy (28 May 2019). "Smithsonian's new secretary, Lonnie Bunch III, faces political and financial challenges". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  19. ^ "Dan David Prize". 2020.
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