Durham architect Zena Howard on the Smithsonian museum she helped design — and its moment in the political spotlight

By Leoneda Inge,

Published April 22, 2025 at 1:19 PM EDT

National Museum of African American History and Culture

The White House Executive Order “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” cites content from the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) as an example of how the “Smithsonian Institution has, in recent years, come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.”

The NMAAHC has deep ties to Durham, where the late Phil Freelon, the museum’s architect of record, built his career. Architect Zena Howard worked with Freelon for many years and was senior project manager for building the museum.

Howard joins Due South’s Leoneda Inge to reflect on the impact of the NMAAHC and the challenges that it, and many other public spaces focused on history, face today.

Guest

Zena Howard, Principal and Global Cultural and Civic Practice Chair, Perkins&Will

Due South

Leoneda Inge

Leoneda Inge is the co-host of WUNC's "Due South." Leoneda has been a radio journalist for more than 30 years, spending most of her career at WUNC as the Race and Southern Culture reporter. Leoneda’s work includes stories of race, slavery, memory and monuments. She has won "Gracie" awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award and several awards from the Radio, Television, Digital News Association (RTDNA). In 2017, Leoneda was named "Journalist of Distinction" by the National Association of Black Journalists.

See stories by Leoneda Inge

Rachel McCarthy

Rachel McCarthy is a producer for "Due South." She previously worked at WUNC as a producer for "The Story with Dick Gordon." More recently, Rachel was podcast managing editor at Capitol Broadcasting Company where she developed narrative series and edited a daily podcast. She also worked at "The Double Shift" podcast as supervising producer. Rachel learned about audio storytelling at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Prior to working in audio journalism, she was a research assistant at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.

See stories by Rachel McCarthy