William S. Pretzer is Senior Curator of History Emeritus at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. His museum career includes time at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History (1980-84), Winterthur Museum (1984-85), The Henry Ford (1985-2006, 11 of those years with Harold Skramstad as President), Central Michigan University Museum of Cultural and National History (Director, 2006-09), and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC, 2009-2023).