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Hello and welcome to The Excerpt. I'm Dana Taylor. Today is Thursday, May 30th, 2024 and this is a special episode of the

excerpt.

National landmarks hold a special place in American history in their

celebration of the unique American places that tell our story. Whether that

story is the incredible natural beauty of the

Grand Canyon or the man-made wonder carved into Mount Rushmore, these are the

places that inspire awe and invite reflection. But some historic landmarks reflect competing visions of

American history and in an election year may be used to stoke a cultural divide.

Which view of our American national landmarks resonates with you.

Here to discuss who controls the narrative is USA Today National News reporter Lauren

Lauren. Thanks for coming on the excerpt, Lauren.

Yeah, thanks, Dana.

As we've seen with other cultural institutions

like the National Museum of the American Latino,

who gets to tell the story is a critical part in determining what story is actually told?

You write that there were two competing visions of America's stories.

Can you give us a 30,000 foot view here?

For the past 10 years, the Park Service has been trying to remedy what it sees as a historical

viewpoint that left out key moments in American history that are important to diverse communities.

And, you know, they've undergone an effort to expand the diversity of national historic

...