‘Freedom Truck’ to arrive in Fort Smith with its mobile history museum

One of the six “Freedom Trucks” with the Freedom 250 organization will be in Fort Smith between July 11 and 13, and will be located near the Fort Smith Museum of History in downtown Fort Smith. Museum officials plan to have re-enactors onsite during parts of the three-day period.

The “mobile museum” is housed in the trailer of a renovated 18-wheeler includes interactive exhibits touted as being designed for all ages. One of the trucks will be in Little Rock June 25-29.

Freedom 250 has spent at least $10 million to create the six Freedom Trucks, and the with mobile history exhibits were created in partnership with Hillsdale College, a private conservative Christian school, and PragerU, a conservative media organization.

“Rather than asking Americans to travel to Washington, the museum comes to them – transforming schools, civic spaces, and public venues into engaging educational environments,” according to Freedom 250. “Each custom-built mobile exhibit features museum-quality interactive technology, multimedia storytelling, and hands-on experiences that highlight America’s founding and defining chapters, as well as the innovation that continues to shape our nation’s future.”

The Freedom Truck, to be parked near the Fort Smith Museum of History, will be open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., on July 11, 12, and 13. The museum will be open during those times, and museum re-enactors will be available 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. each day. The museum will have a discounted admission of $2 during the Freedom Truck visit.

“America’s 250th anniversary is a chance to celebrate the stories, ideals, and people that have shaped our nation for generations,” said museum Executive Director Caroline Spier. “We are delighted to welcome the Freedom 250 Truck to the Fort Smith Museum of History and to share this experience with our community. History is most powerful when it can be seen, explored, and experienced firsthand, and this exhibit offers that opportunity. We hope it inspires visitors of all ages to learn more about our nation’s journey and to recognize that they are part of the continuing American story.”

Freedom 250, one of two groups created to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday and the only group sanctioned by the Trump Administration, has faced questions, including from some members of Congress, over a lack of transparency around funding and spending.

There also are critics of PragerU and Hillsdale College being selected to craft exhibits in the Freedom Trucks. PragerU has been criticized for its content that minimizes the impact of slavery, promotes anti-gay and anti-feminism policies, refutes climate science, and promotes a Christian view of the American founding and subsequent history.

Hillsdale College has faced similar criticisms. For example, the American Historical Association has alleged that Hillsdale’s curriculum reorders American history and reality by downplaying racism, rejecting climate-change science and advocating for Christian nationalist policies.

According to this report from The Guardian, “the prevailing wind blowing through the truck is towards the white men who led the charge to nationhood, with minor roles granted to their women dutifully holding the fort back home, and on God as the source of the country’s greatness.”