Nothing Can Be Changed Until it Is Faced: Museum Solidarity Statements as Reflections of Understanding Systemic Racism.
Gretchen Jennings and Sara Phelan will discuss how museums have addressed systemic racism. They, along with Juline Chevalier are the co-authors of a 2023 Curator article based on the websites and statements of solidarity published by American museums in the wake of George Floyd's murder in May 2020.
The authors are members of MASSAction, (Museums as Sites for Social Action), a nation-wide collaborative working for equity, social change, and more inclusive practice in museums. With the assistance of dozens of volunteers from MASSAction, the authors researched statements by 1,100 accredited museums using content analysis and a set of criteria developed with MASSAction colleagues.
In addition to reporting on the numbers and types of museums issuing statements, they assess museums' readiness to confront racist systems within their organizations, in the museum field, and in the nation as a whole. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/cura.12544
Gretchen Jennings has worked in museums for nearly 40 years. She was project director on traveling exhibitions Psychology and Invention at Play, both of which received AAM awards of excellence, and has served as Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Museum Education and Exhibition. She originated The Empathetic Museum project www.empatheticmuseum.com in 2013. Since then she has written, spoken, and collaborated with colleagues in the movement for social justice in the museum field.
Sara Phalen is a Chicana community organizer and museum worker advocating for equity in local history, preservation and small museums. She is currently the director/curator for the West Chicago City Museum and the Warrenville Historical Museum & Art Gallery.
Juline Chevalier is dedicated to making museums relevant and accessible to all. She has 20 years of experience in museum education and interpretation, and served as the Director of the National Art Education Association Museum Education Division from 2019 to 2021. She is currently Assistant Vice President, Interpretation at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada.
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