Smithsonian Snags Memorabilia From Glenn Beck, Al Sharpton Rallies

There is a reason the Smithsonian Institution is affectionately known as "The Nation's Attic." Its curators and historians collect all manner of stuff.

And Saturday, Aug. 28, was just another work day, as staffers at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History went on the hunt for memorabilia to add to the collection of 3 million items.

From Glenn Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally at the Lincoln Memorial -- held on the 47th anniversary of the Rev. Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream speech" and massive civil rights march -- they snapped up "a water bottle, pamphlets, leaflets, buttons, and a t-shirt" before and after the program, Melinda Machado, the Smithsonian's public affairs director, told Politics Daily.

Curators also e-mailed a request to Beck's staff seeking "any official material that relates to the material culture of this particular rally, including official badges, hats, t-shirts or related material." They have not yet received a reply, she said. The Fox News host devoted an hour of TV time Monday recapping the rally, which featured speeches by former Alaska governor and Tea Party icon Sarah Palin, several members of the military, and anti-abortion activist Alveda King, a niece of the slain civil rights leader.

Did the Smithsonian ask for the bulletproof vest Beck says he wore during the rally.

"Not to my knowledge," Machado told me.

The Smithsonian also took note of Saturday's other anniversary event, the "Reclaiming the Dream" march and rally organized by the Rev. Al Sharpton, that featured several civil rights leaders and U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan. The American History museum "is seeking additional materials," Machado said via e-mail.

The museum's political history division also has memorabilia from the original 1963 March on Washington, part of what she called its "ongoing effort to capture the spirit of American democracy and the American political system, including how people express their identity and the identity of the nation through political rallies, demonstrations and protests. Recent acquisitions include materials from the 2008 Presidential campaign, immigration demonstrations on the National Mall, gay marriage, the 'Obama Care' Tea Party rally in March and the April 15 tax day rally."

Only five to 10 percent of the Smithsonian's acquisitions are displayed at any one time, she said, and the institution has its own standards on the sorts of things subject to outright rejection. These include at least two items that are arguably historic but come with a high ick factor: the blue dress Monica Lewinsky wore to one of her White House assignations with President Bill Clinton, which bears what is politely described as DNA from the chief executive, and the Giorgio Armani tan suit (plus a shirt and tie) OJ Simpson wore to court the day of his 1995 double-murder acquittal. The televised, nine-month trial centered on whether Simpson killed his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend, Ron Goldman, in Los Angeles.

The Newseum, a private institution just blocks from the Smithsonian, accepted the OJ clothing, which will go on public display in October to mark the 15th anniversary of the reading of the verdict in what may be the most widely watched trial in America.