Museum said it understands calls to remove mention of comedian but visitors will leave knowing Cosby’s impact while recognizing image has been damaged

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

The founding director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture said on Thursday that while items relating to Bill Cosby would be included in a forthcoming exhibition about pioneers in comedy and television, references to the sexual assault accusations against Cosby would be incorporated.



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“Like all of history, our interpretation of Bill Cosby is a work in progress, something that will continue to evolve as new evidence and insights come to the fore,” Lonnie Bunch said in a statement.

“Visitors will leave the exhibition knowing more about Mr Cosby’s impact on American entertainment, while recognizing that his legacy has been severely damaged by the recent accusations.”



Cosby has been accused of sexual assault by several women. Last month, he appeared in court.

The exhibition, Taking the Stage, is set to open with the museum in Washington DC on 24 September. It will look into the history of African American participation in film, theatre, and television.

Cosby is one of many entertainers to be highlighted. Bunch said the exhibition did not “honor or celebrate” Cosby, but “acknowledge[d] his role, among many others, in American entertainment”.

The first 11 exhibitions at the museum will showcase more than 3,000 items, the museum said, 150 of which will be part of the theater, film and TV exhibition. Only two of these items will be related to Cosby: a comic book from I Spy and the cover of Cosby’s 1964 album, I Started Out as a Child.

The items will be displayed in cases devoted to “TV Pioneers” and comedians. The latter will feature six other African American comedians including Richard Pryor and Red Foxx.

Bunch said the museum understood why “some people feel that the Smithsonian should eliminate all mention of Bill Cosby as a result of recent revelations”. The institution, however, “respectfully disagrees”.



“For too long, aspects of African American history have been erased and undervalued, creating an incomplete interpretation of the American past,” Bunch said.

“This museum seeks to tell, in the words of the eminent historian John Hope Franklin, ‘the unvarnished truth’ that will help our visitors to remember and better understand what has often been erased and forgotten.”