The importance of identity

Lonnie Bunch III

November 23, 2022

The Importance of Identity

Interview by Joseph Farodoye

Interview conducted by Joseph Farodoye

Interviewee: Lonnie Bunch III

Purpose and vision are two components so many greatmen and women possess and these qualities were in abundance when I had the privilege of meeting Lonnie Bunch III, the head of the Smithsonian institute as he shares on how he built a legacy that helped to change America.

Background

Lonnie G. Bunch III is the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian. He assumed his position June 16, 2019. As Secretary, he oversees 21 museums, including two new museums in development—the National Museum of the American Latino and the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, 21 libraries, the National Zoo, numerous research centers, and several education units and centers. Bunch was the founding director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture and is the first historian to be Secretary of the Institution.