RACE IN THE MUSEUM: Facing Change

As the second annual American Alliance of Museums Facing Change retreat came to a close in September, I was left with a range of thoughts and observations on the trajectory of the movement towards racial equity, diversity and inclusion in our museums. There has been a great push for positive development by all of our industry professional organizations, many supporting foundations, and especially by grassroots activists that have taken to social media and public protest to help dismantle systems of racism and abuse. Initiatives such as the Museum Workers Relief Fund, which offers supplemental funds to frontline museum staff donated by their museum colleagues, have helped to ameliorate the effects of thousands of layoffs and furloughs caused by the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The Smithsonian Institution and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London have recently announced their decision to abandon plans for a jointly curated gallery in the upcoming V&A East museum and instead provide paid internships to young Londoners and DC residents in an effort to promote diversity in the arts.

AAM has devised a groundbreaking and challenging initiative, the first of its kind on a national level to focus specifically on diversity and inclusion in museum boards. This is important because we often see racial stratification where the majority of people of color hold the lowest-level, least powerful positions. When people of color are in higher up positions, such as education or curatorial, they are often subject to promotion and pay disparities in comparison to their white colleagues. Diversifying museum boards will allow for new systems of equity and inclusion to take hold where those telling the stories, designing the infrastructures, and creating the policies are also people of color.

As we all know from the ubiquitous Dilenschneider studies, museums are considered the most trustworthy sources of information in America, rated higher than media, academic research and even the U.S. government. Museums are also considered educational resources by 98% of Americans across all demographics. However, how can we accept this community trust if we are not doing our best to increase support and improve representation of our communities, starting from within with employees and moving outward towards our audiences? Are we really striving for equity and inclusion after bringing diverse professionals into our institutions or are we tokenizing skin color, foreign names, and head gear? Also, are we willing to let go of elitism and classism?

The Facing Change project is meant to support and provide educational resources to a cohort of over fifty museums across the country as we take the steps to ensure the future sustainability and impact of our institutions for all. Participants have access to the invaluable expertise of dozens of fellows and DEAI consultants (many of whom are people of color) leading the program to help make individual, structural, and collective change. All museums have committed to developing a written diversity and inclusion plan to be shared publicly later this year. And while there were odd moments of dismay by the obvious disinterest of some museum colleagues or when some completely shifted off focus to topics having nothing to do with diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion (such as storage issues for example), the retreat provided plenty of opportunities for self reflection and positive engagement. Discussions often encouraged the examination of our own biases and complicity, and attempts to answer important questions such as “who gives in, and when?” as posed by intercultural organizational development expert Beth Zemsky.

These calls for collective awakening come at a time when we are all experiencing a pandemic of multiple facets- a global health crisis, an economic depression, environmental degradation, and racial injustice and social unrest. This year has eerily brought on so much pain and suffering, loss and destruction, that it is being compared to 1968, one of the worst years in American history. January 1968 saw the massive attack on South Vietnam known as the Tet Offensive, ultimately resulting in 45,000 deaths and thousands of permanently injured US veterans; followed by the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King in April which led to an explosion of race riots throughout the country; and then, the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, the Democratic presidential candidate that year. 

We also are in a presidential election year, one overshadowed by the fight over the Supreme Court Justice nomination after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the deaths of two civil rights titans, Congressman John Lewis and C.T. Vivian. Historical parallels are comforting and I will close with a note of optimism and positivity. We shall overcome the trials and tribulations of this year, as we did in 1968, and we will continue to fight for equity and equality.

Lina Ali is an award-winning exhibition director and cultural curator. She is a Harvard Museums Studies Masters graduate specializing in museum development, exhibition conceptualization, and DEAI consulting. Lina serves on the board of two small culture museums and is the Deputy Executive Director of the International Museum of Muslim Cultures.