Seven years after taking the helm of one of the world's most consequential cultural institutions, Lonnie G. Bunch III has stepped down as Smithsonian secretary, his departure shaped by the enduring tension between scholarly independence and political power. His resignation in September 2026 is less a personal ending than a signal — a reminder that even institutions chartered by Congress and built to outlast administrations are not immune to the pressures of the moment. The question his leaving poses is ancient and unresolved: who, ultimately, gets to decide which stories a society tells about