The purpose of this page is to provide resources and calls to action for museums and museum professionals on how to respond and act on current events.

This page will be updated as current events unfold and evolve over time.

March 2021: The Atlanta Spa Attacks

The Mid-Atlantic Association of Museums mourns the loss of the eight people killed last week in the spa shootings in Atlanta. We extend our condolences to the families of the victims. We are horrified that this crime was fueled by hate, racism, and misogyny and was largely directed toward Asian, and Asian American women.

MAAM condemns such violence, racism, and misogyny. We stand in solidarity with and endorse the statements made by the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and many other cultural organizations. As museums, it is our role to support our Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander colleagues. We should always be listening to their stories, their accomplishments and their struggles. But now, we should be lending our support and offering a safe space for our colleagues to talk.
Our country has seen much in the ways of violence, and even more so in the past year. Our statements are not one-off efforts, but should be considerate of the issues at the time and should be a challenge for us to do better as museums and as a nation. We call on our field to stand up against racism, misogyny, and to support our colleagues and communities.  Below you will find resources to help you navigate this conversation to #StopAsianHate
 
Smithsonian APA Center’s Care Package: https://smithsonianapa.org/care/ 
Smithsonian APA Center’s Statement and List of Resources by Smithsonian museums: http://smithsonianapa.org/stand/ (Videos, exhibitions, educator resources)
Other Sources:

“Racial Trauma in Film: How Viewers Can Address Re-traumatization”

https://counseling.northwestern.edu/blog/racial-trauma-retraumatization-film/

Black Lives Media and Where to Find It, Octane Seating

Want to know more about where to find media and resources about the Black Lives Matter movement? Click the link below for resources on where to find media about the Black Lives Matter organization and movement.

https://octaneseating.com/blog/black-lives-matter-media/

Sunshine Behavioral Health

Mental Health in the Black Community

Sunshine Behavioral Health created a free resource that has free or low-cost sources for mental health treatment in the black community.

Here are some highlights:

  • How Racism Causes Mental Health Issues
  • The Importance of Culturally Competent Care
  • Why Don’t Black People Seek Mental Health Help
  • Black Mental Health Providers

Sunshine Behavioral Health’s goal is to spread education and awareness. You can view the article and resources by clicking the link below.

https://www.sunshinebehavioralhealth.com/mental-health-issues-facing-the-black-community/

 

May 2020: Racial Violence and Discrimination

MAAM stands in solidarity with those protesting police brutality and advocating for change. MAAM knows that part of our goal of fostering excellence in the museum field includes demanding that museum professionals and institutions do better.

We can do better by leveraging positions of privilege to help our most vulnerable colleagues and visitors. We can do better by being anti-racist. We can better support our colleagues of color. We can do better by having conversations, sharing resources, and educating ourselves.

Let us foster excellence together. Our communities can thrive, but only if we can collectively strive to be a better society by holding each other accountable. Challenge assumptions, share resources, spark discussion.

 

We encourage you to watch this video. This video includes Black parents explaining to their children how to deal with the police and what their experiences were: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CA04jjVjvmQ/?igshid=19f963fz8nr1y

 

Calls to Action

How you can help right now:

Here’s what we can do within the museum field: 

The National Museum of African American History Talking about Race web portal represents a useful resource for organizations struggling with how to engage in these conversations with visitors,  staff, and community members. https://nmaahc.si.edu/about/news/national-museum-african-american-history-and-culture-releases-talking-about-race-web

On a personal level as a museum professional:

  • On a personal level, look inward: audit your work, consider your privilege, and think about where your influences and ideologies come from.
  • Recognize how injustices affect Black, Asian, Middle-Eastern, Latinx, and Indigenous colleagues differently than white colleagues.
  • Give space to colleagues of color. Allow them to mourn, and center their experiences over your own.
  • Support minority-owned businesses and restaurants

More from Museum Educators Roundtable:

Helpful Pages (Originally shared by Southeastern Museums Conference-SEMC)

Museums and Race
A movement to challenge and re-imagine institutional policies and systems that perpetuate oppression in museums.
https://museumsandrace.org/

Mass Action Toolkit
This collaborative project seeks to align museums with more equitable and inclusive practices.
https://www.museumaction.org/

The Empathetic Museum 
The qualities of 21st century museums are impossible without an inner core of institutional empathy: the intention of the museum to be, and be perceived as, deeply connected with its community.
http://empatheticmuseum.weebly.com/

The Incluseum
The Incluseum advances new ways of being a museum through dialogue, community building and collaborative practice related to inclusion in museums
https://incluseum.com/

PO Box 4 Cooperstown, NY 13326

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