The Department of Education unfurled huge banners on the face of the federal agency’s Washington headquarters celebrating “250 years of academic excellence,” but the figures they chose to highlight deserve a double take.
Three of the six faces draped on the building are late conservative figures Booker T. Washington, Catharine Beecher, and Charlie Kirk. Zooming out, these people represent broader ideologies being pushed from within the Trump administration.
A memorial for Turning Point USA CEO and co-founder Charlie Kirk is seen at Utah Valley University on Sept. 13, 2025, in Orem, Utah.
Washington became controversial for his stance on segregation. As a Black educator and former slave, he urged the Black community to build their skills from within the confines of racial inequality rather than try to level the playing field.
In 1895, Washington gave a famous speech telling Black people to "cast down your buckets where you are," which was code for tolerating racial discrimination and instead focusing on building vocational skills where they were.
Beecher, on the other hand, was an educator and writer who founded schools for women and campaigned for their education. But she also was anti-suffrage, speaking out against the movement that fought for women’s right to vote and run for office. While she advocated for education, Beecher ultimately believed that a woman’s place in society was in the home—and in service to her husband.
Then there is Kirk. The late podcaster and far-right activist who was shot and killed in September 2025 while appearing at a college campus has no formal title as an educator in any capacity. But the West Point reject and community college dropout did uphold values trumpeted by the Trump administration.
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On the surface, Kirk was against the structure of higher education, despite his frequent presence on college campuses to “debate” students and push extremist ideologies.
Kirk often posted videos of his so-called debates, which included moments where he argued that single Black mothers should receive less government assistance because it incentivizes absentee fathers.
He also called gun violence in Chicago “a lack-of-father problem in the Black community,” on top of his moments attacking civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
The Education Department, which is headed by WWE co-founder Linda McMahon, defended its choices in a statement to The Guardian, saying, “We are proud to honor visionary leaders whose contributions have shaped the future of education for generations.”
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Three other banners draped on the building’s facade feature Benjamin Franklin, MLK Jr., and Anne Sullivan.
“Their work reflects Benjamin Franklin’s timeless belief that ‘an investment in knowledge pays the best interest,” the statement said, adding that “as our country marks a historic 250th milestone, this moment invites us all to join in the pursuit of fostering educational opportunity that empowers every learner to rise, contribute, and help shape a brighter future for generations yet to come.”
But the Trump administration’s decision to glorify these particular figures is just one piece of its larger effort to dismantle “woke” ideology and introduce MAGA-approved cultural icons.
Since taking office again, President Donald Trump’s administration has reintroduced statues depicting Confederate war generals, removed references to slavery from national parks and federal lands, and wiped government websites of any hint of “wokeness.”
In other words, the administration so hell-bent on making sure history is being told “correctly” seems to be insistent on only telling it from a certain point of view.
